Why DO Kate's parents see so much more of Charlotte

Why DO Kate's parents see so much more of Charlotte



She may only just be turning two, but Princess Charlotte already seems strong-minded.

During a recent church sermon, she appeared impatient for the vicar of St Mary the Virgin, the parish church close to her grandparents’ home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, to bring the service to an end.

‘She gave the impression that it was going on a little too long,’ said one member of the congregation who observed the chubby-cheeked princess there with her protective big brother, Prince George, sitting good as gold in his pew. ‘Charlotte certainly has got a good voice.’



Churchgoers report a few noisy interludes from the youngest — and as we will see, maybe most determined — member of the Royal Family.

As is often the case when it comes to the Cambridges’ children, doting granny Carole Middleton was there to soothe Charlotte, whose birthday is next Tuesday.

It is a big milestone for the Princess who, has not been seen by the wider public at all since last year.

Both Charlotte and George are frequent visitors to the Middletons’ £4.7 million home, Bucklebury Manor (it is Charlotte’s maternal grandparents who play the biggest role in her life).



It is a haven of tranquillity for the children, who can run around the 18-acre grounds, dip their fingers in the pond teeming with frog spawn, or collect eggs from the chicken coop.

None of it compares with the cosy familiarity of their own home, Anmer Hall, on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate, where Charlotte and three-year-old George live — and that William and Kate insist will remain their principal home, despite a move to London later this year. (As if to emphasise the point, they’ve just employed a second full-time housekeeper.)

Nevertheless, this summer’s relocation to Kensington Palace in time for George to start at Thomas’s School in Battersea, London, in September will signal a big change for Charlotte.



George attends a Montessori nursery in Norfolk, but the Princess will start her education in the capital. It is anticipated she will follow her brother and go to Thomas’s Kindergarten later in the year.

The royals chose the school, in the heart of Battersea’s affluent ‘Nappy Valley’, as it reminded Kate of her own ‘village’ upbringing in Berkshire. Its sister school in Kensington had too many oligarchs and celebrities as parents, it was thought.

Thomas’s ‘kindy’ is located in the crypt of Grade I-listed St Mary’s Church in Battersea. Fees range between £1,950 per term for three mornings a week to £2,445 for five with an extra £440 per afternoon per term.

Charlotte — who has distinctive, dark ‘Middleton eyes’ according to her mother — seems to have a sparkly nature. Kate recently told a well-wisher: ‘She is very cute but has quite a feisty side. George has turned out to be a lovely little boy. I hope he will keep Charlotte in order!’

That’s quite a transformation.

As the Duchess herself hinted just last week when she referred to how lonely and overwhelming becoming a parent can be, she found motherhood the first time round a difficult experience.

George wasn’t the easiest of babies — not only did she struggle to feed him but he was not a good sleeper. There were early reports of his boisterous nature. But things are easier now.

At a children’s party on their visit to Canada last autumn, George appeared a much shyer, more hesitant child, who frequently looked to his mother and father for encouragement.

Charlotte, by contrast, wrestled herself out of her mother’s arms and toddled to a balloon display, uttering her first words in public. ‘Pop!’ she squealed. ‘Pop!’ Lively Charlotte — a second child like Princess Anne and Aunt Pippa — is proving to be a chip off the block when it comes to her adored ‘Gan-Gan’, her great-grandmother, the Queen, who sees the youngest member of her family regularly.

It was certainly no coincidence that William chose to live close to his adored grandmother in Norfolk, rather than his father in Gloucestershire. Charlotte has also taken to horse-riding, having none of the alleged allergies to horses that her mother has.

A beach which borders the Sandringham Estate is a favourite place for Charlotte, who has also been taken to International Horse Trials and a Georgian market town for shopping trips.

Mother and daughter have also been spotted at a discount chain store where they bought arts and crafts supplies after Christmas. Arty Kate is keen on her children getting their hands messy.

Both Kate and William, who does his best to be home from his job as an air ambulance pilot for bath-time, are hands-on parents. The Prince has said having a daughter was a ‘game-changer’ for him, not just because he is one of two boys. It has made him, he says, more vulnerable.