Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Princess Kate's only daughter, is currently third in line to inherit the British throne and has already won a growing fanbase among royal watchers.
The princess celebrated her ninth birthday on May 2, which was marked with the release of a new portrait taken by her mother in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
William, Kate and their three children live at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Great Park, where the young royals attend the nearby Lambrook School.
So far this year, Charlotte has made two key public appearances: the first at the annual Trooping the Colour celebrations in London and the second accompanying her mother to the Wimbledon Tennis Championship men's final.
As Charlotte continues to take on a more senior presence among the royal family with her brothers, Prince George and Princess Louis, Newsweek takes a look at her royal name, style and titles.
Named in Tribute
Princess Charlotte's full name, "Charlotte Elizabeth Diana," contains overt tributes to two of the most influential female royal family members of the twentieth century.
While "Charlotte" has been speculated to have been selected as a tribute to the princess' grandfather, King Charles, being the feminized version of the name, the "Elizabeth" and "Diana" can be more easily identified.
"Elizabeth" is a tribute to the princess' great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who was 89 at the time of her birth. There is also a maternal link, in that Princess Kate's middle name is Elizabeth.
"Diana" is a clear tribute to Charlotte's grandmother, the late Princess Diana, who died in 1997 following a high-speed car crash in Paris, France when Prince William was just 15 years old.
William and Kate are not the only royals to have honored their daughter with names in tribute to Elizabeth and Diana.
In 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle named their daughter "Lilibet Diana" —Lilibet being a family nickname of the queen's.
Her Royal Highness
When Charlotte was born in 2015, she was the great-granddaughter of the reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. As such, historically, she would not have been entitled to bear the style of "Her Royal Highness" or the title of "Princess".
The rules stating which royals can use which titles were set out in 1917 by King George V. These determined that only the children and male-line grandchildren of the monarch can be HRHs and princes or princesses. In addition to this an exception was made for the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
If this would have been followed, Charlotte's older brother, George, would have been entitled to use the prince title, but not his siblings.
Prior to the birth of Prince George, Queen Elizabeth extended the 1917 protocol to include all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales so that there would be equality among any potential siblings.
An announcement was made through the Gazette in London that: "The Queen has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 31 December 2012 to declare that all the children of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour."
So, at the time of her birth Charlotte was automatically given the style of Her Royal Highness and title of princess.
'Of Wales'
Princess Charlotte does not hold any title of honor in her own right (e.g. she is not a royal duchess).
As such, she takes the suffix of her father's most senior title for official use. When she was born, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. This was because her father's most senior title at the time was "Duke of Cambridge."
When Queen Elizabeth II died, William's most senior titles changed briefly to "Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge." As such, Charlotte became Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge.
When King Charles III made William the new "Prince of Wales" after his accession, Charlotte's title changed again to Princess Charlotte of Wales.
This is shared by her brothers as Prince George of Wales and Prince Louis of Wales.
When Prince William becomes king, the children will drop their suffixes altogether becoming known simply as: The Princess Charlotte, The Prince George and The Prince Louis.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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