Kensington Palace Released New Photos Of Princess Charlotte For Her Birthday

It's no secret that Prince William and Kate Middleton work hard to ensure their three children lead relatively normal lives. You know, despite the fact that they're heirs to the British throne. Sure, they make appearances at major events — like weddings, Trooping the Colour, etc. But other than these few public occasions, the royal family doesn't share a ton of personal photos of Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Which is why today is a big day. Because Kensington Palace released new photos of Princess Charlotte for her birthday. And she looks so grown up!

On Wednesday, May 1, the royal family posted a series of portraits of the birthday girl via social media, People reported. "Happy Birthday Princess Charlotte! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share three new photographs of Princess Charlotte ahead of her fourth birthday," the Kensington Palace Instagram and Twitter accounts read. "The photographs were taken in April by The Duchess at Kensington Palace and at their home in Norfolk." Fans of the royal family promptly chimed in with their thoughts. "Oh what a resemblance to Queen Elizabeth! 👑," one Instagram user wrote.

Another person commented, "She looks like William and Queen Elizabeth. Can’t believe she’s almost 4 💕💕."

Yet another Instagram user chimed in with, "Someone looks just like her daddy!"

Take a look for yourself. There's this playful shot of Charlotte holding a flower.

There's also this sweet shot of the princess smiling while wearing a floral blue dress and sitting in the grass.

"Thank you for the lovely messages for Princess Charlotte’s fourth birthday!" the Kensington Palace Instagram account wrote alongside the third and final birthday photo. The shot featured Princess Charlotte sitting on a fence and wearing the same sweater and skirt from the first portrait.

Guys, I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that Princess Charlotte is 4 years old. Wasn't it just yesterday that Prince William and Kate Middleton were introducing their second child to the world on the steps of St. Mary's Hospital — the very same day she was born? Although her name hadn't been announced yet at the time, it was reported that the Duchess of Cambridge delivered a daughter at 8:34 a.m. London time on May 2, 2015. The baby girl weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces, according to Today.

Princess Charlotte's first official portrait— alongside big brother George — was shared just over a month later on June 6 according to Vanity Fair.

Since then, Kensington Palace has periodically released portraits of, or including, Princess Charlotte. The royal family has also kept up with the tradition of sharing new portraits each year near Christmas and on each of their kids' birthdays. Here's the little princess at 1 year old.

Here's her 2-year-old portrait.

And here's the photo Kensington Palace posted ahead of Princess Charlotte's third birthday last year.

As I'm sitting here looking back on the past four years of Princess Charlotte in photos, I can't help but wonder: Is it just me, or is the jump from 3 to 4 years old the most drastic in terms of growth? Because Princess Charlotte is looking so grown up in her new birthday portraits. In fact, I think I may be having an existential crisis because of it. So I can only imagine how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are feeling about now. Happy birthday, Charlotte!