Princess Charlotte’s 9th Birthday Photo Included A Lovely Nod To Queen Elizabeth

When Kate Middleton took her daughter Princess Charlotte’s photo for her ninth birthday on May 2, it looked like a fairly simple affair. The young girl stood outside in the sunshine, posing by a fence surrounded by pale pink blooms. Smiling, wearing a sweet little denim skirt and navy sweater with a berry-colored cardigan overtop. But royal fans noticed one detail in her photo that was a subtle nod to her late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth. Gone nearly two years but never forgotten, especially by her beloved great-granddaughter.

In Princess Charlotte’s ninth birthday photo, which her mom Kate Middleton and dad Prince William shared on social media on Thursday, the young royal stands surrounded by a pink flower called Clematis Elizabeth, one of the very first plants named after her late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, as reported by Garden Illustrated.

It certainly makes sense that Princess Charlotte would continue to honor her great-grandmother. From the moment she was born and her parents named her Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, after the Queen and her late grandmother Princess Diana, the two have shared a close bond. As Middleton shared in the documentary The Queen at 90, per Elle, “The Queen was really thrilled that it was a little girl. I think as soon as we came back here to Kensington, she was one of our first visitors here. I think she's very fond of Charlotte. She’s always watching what she’s up to.”

Now nine years later, Princess Charlotte is keeping that bond alive.

Princess Charlotte, perhaps even more than her 10-year-old brother Prince George and 6-year-old brother Prince Louis, has always modeled herself after her great-grandmother when it comes to royal decorum. From the first time she was seen mimicking Queen Elizabeth’s iconic wave on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to perfecting her curtsy, Princess Charlotte has always honored her great-grandmother whenever she can. When Queen Elizabeth died in 2022, Princess Charlotte wore a special horse brooch to her funeral as a lovely nod to their shared passion for the four-legged animals. And when the Queen’s casket was taken past her and brother Prince George, future King of England, it was Princess Charlotte who directed her older brother to bow for the late monarch.

Always considerate of her great-grandmother. Even now.