13 Times Princess Charlotte Was Just Like Princess Anne

Princess Charlotte of Wales is still quite young, but we're beginning to see more and more of her in the public eye. While she's not a working royal yet, it's clear that she is well on her way to playing an important part in the British monarchy. As the only daughter of the heir to the throne, Charlotte holds a unique position in the family.

It's a position that has also been held by her great-aunt, Anne, Princess Royal. Like Charlotte, Anne was the only girl among her siblings and grew up knowing that her brother would one day be king. That's a lot of pressure on young shoulders, but if Charlotte is anything like her aunt, she will be well up to the challenge.

In fact, Charlotte is already taking after her great-aunt in a number of ways, with royal expert Tom Quinn noting to Express that there is "definitely a parallel" between the two princesses, and we're likely to see the list of similarities increase as Charlotte grows older and more confident in her position in the royal family. Charlotte may even inherit the title of Princess Royal one day, although this won't be a possibility until her father is king and Anne has died. Title aside, though, there are a lot of commonalities between the two princesses.

Not only are Princess Anne and Princess Charlotte the only girls among their siblings, but they also have the same birth order. Being born second in the family, not to mention growing up as a "spare" to the throne, has had an impact on Anne's development. "With royals it really does make a big difference where you are born in the family," Dr. Sam Wass, a research scientist, told Express.

According to a study conducted by Wass, children who are born second tend to have a more independent streak. "Patience was one of the big characteristics that second borns were likely to have as they have to wait longer for things to come through and for their lives to change," Wass added.

It will be interesting to see how closely Charlotte follows these expectations as she grows, but she's already exhibiting some of the traits Wass' research predicts for second-born children, and they're traits we know Anne possesses. "It's tricky to know exactly what is causing what, but we do have a pattern in the British Royal Family. ... It definitely does seem that there is this pattern of rebelliousness and wanting to be a bit different," said Wass.

Having the support of siblings can make a world of difference. Studies show that siblings can impact your life in myriad ways, from being more empathic to being more charitable. Sisters, in particular, can even help shield you from depressive feelings, according to a study from Brigham Young University (via Reader's Digest).

We know that Princess Anne has greatly supported King Charles throughout his life, and it seems that Princess Charlotte will fill that role for her brother, Prince George. The bond between the young royals was on display at the 2022 funeral of their great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with observers noting how the young prince and princess, then 9 and 7, interacted. "What I really liked was there was so many parallels comparing George and Charlotte supporting each other in this time, as Charles and Anne supported each other throughout so much history," royal expert Christine Ross said on the "Royally Us" podcast (via Express).

Even the age difference between the two sets of siblings is the same, with both sisters just a couple of years younger than their brothers. "Princess Anne has never really struggled, she's famously quite supportive of Charles," royal expert Tom Quinn told Express. "And she is kind of a tougher character than Charles, because I think she has always known she wouldn't become the monarch, whereas Charles [growing up] was under that pressure. And I think something similar will happen in the younger generation too."

As a young girl, Princess Anne took ballet lessons, falling in love with it after seeing her first ballet performance with her mother, according to a 1958 report in The New York Times. It's a creative pursuit shared by her great-niece, who began studying ballet at the tender age of 3 — five years younger than Anne was when she first began her lessons. "My daughter Charlotte loves dancing," William, Prince of Wales once said (via People).

Charlotte also has an aptitude for gymnastics. "It's so good for their basic skills of balance and coordination," said her mother of the sport (via Express). "Charlotte is really into gymnastics, she's doing cartwheels, handstands, everything."

While we may not see Princess Anne turning cartwheels, she does have at least some experience with gymnastics, having participated in part of a session for Love to Move, an initiative of the British Gymnastics Foundation which helps people with dementia get in some exercise through gymnastics moves done while sitting.

Horseback riding is another hobby shared by Anne, Princess Royal and her great-niece, Princess Charlotte. Charlotte has long been fascinated by horses and has taken lessons along with her brother, Prince George. The Times reported that William, Prince of Wales is "thrilled" that his children have taken up the hobby.

Princess Anne may be the most famous equestrian in royal history. Like Charlotte, she has a lifelong love for horses and honed her skills to an impressive degree. Anne was a competitive rider and even competed at the 1976 Olympics. While she didn't bring home a medal, she has won a number of accolades in the sport, including a gold medal at the Burghley Three-Day Event in 1971. The princess remains involved with the sport as the president of the British Olympic Association and as a member of the International Olympic Committee. She still rides and even appeared at the Trooping the Color on horseback in 2022.

Princess Charlotte's love for horses extends to other members of the animal kingdom and even a member of the mythical animal kingdom. William, Prince of Wales revealed in a 2021 Instagram Q&A that his daughter loves unicorns. When asked if he believes the horned creatures are real, he said: "Well I think if you talked to my daughter, she'd say they were real. Obviously, it's a trade secret so I can't possibly comment" (via Hello!)

Charlotte was seen petting a dog on her first-ever royal tour and has bonded with family pets including dogs and a hamster. This fondness for furry friends is shared with Princess Anne, whose affection for dogs landed her in trouble in 2002 when one of her pooches attacked two children, resulting in a fine for the Princess Royal. While the incident was unfortunate, it doesn't diminish Anne's love for animals or the work she's done with them, such as serving as president of the now-shuttered Animal Health Trust for nearly 30 years.

Ballet and horseback riding aren't the only physical activities that these two princesses have in common. Both Princess Charlotte and Princess Anne have also been known to appreciate a tennis match in their time. Anne is regularly seen in the royal box at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, something she has done ever since she was young. 

Charlotte, meanwhile, has been exposed to the sport her whole life. William, Prince of Wales revealed back in 2018 that he was trying to get his kids into the sport (via Town & Country), and four years later Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were spotted on the tennis court with their mother. While it's unclear yet if Charlotte will show an affinity for playing the sport, it seems that her chances of at least being a keen observer of the game for the rest of her life are quite high, considering just how many members of the royal family are fans.

While the royal family has a team of gardeners to keep the grounds of their royal residences lush and pristine, some members of the royal family have been known to try out their own green thumbs on a smaller scale. Princess Anne had a garden when she was a young girl, and it's something that helped her bond with her older brother. "My sister and I had a little vegetable patch in the back of some border somewhere," King Charles recalled on the BBC's "The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed" (via Vanity Fair). "We had great fun trying to grow tomatoes rather unsuccessfully and things like that."

Princess Charlotte has also kept a garden with her brothers, Prince George and Prince Louis. The trio can be seen gardening in photographs that were revealed to the public in the documentary "Prince William: A Planet For Us All" (via Hello!)

One of the privileges of royal life is having access to the finer things, and that includes food. While the masses may only be able to afford a gourmet meal on special occasions, the royal family can indulge in fine meals all the time, leading to many members developing a refined palate. Princess Anne's palate is especially refined, with her favorite meal being a sumptuous dish called deviled pheasant. "Basically, a couple of whole pheasants are poached, then taken off the bone, shredded and kept warm in the poaching juices," chef John Williams told Country Life. "You just add freshly whipped cream, left in the fridge for an hour to stiffen, mixed with a good amount of Green Label mango chutney."

It's a far cry from your basic chicken dinner, and it seems that Princess Charlotte shares Princess Anne's preference for complex flavor profiles. Chutney is a staple of South Asian cuisine, as is curry — a flavor that Charlotte has a particular taste for. Catherine Middleton, Princess of Wales once revealed that not everyone in the family can handle the heat of the spicy dish — Prince William among them. Charlotte, though, was "pretty good" with her spice tolerance even as a 4-year-old (via the Daily Mail). Charlotte also likes olives, a surprising choice for a young girl.

Suffice it to say that we'd love to be invited to a dinner party thrown by these two royal foodies.

Forget the idea of a demure, dainty princess in need of saving. Princess Charlotte and Princess Anne are about as far from the trope of a damsel in distress as you can get. Anne has made headlines for her feisty personality since she was a girl, once telling the reporters hounding her to "naff off" (via Vanity Fair). She's also proven that she's not someone to be messed with, notably thwarting a kidnapping attempt when she was in her 20s.

Clearly, that independent spirit is in the DNA of the royal family, and Princess Charlotte has it in spades. While she hasn't antagonized the press (that we know of), she has shown that she's just as much of a fighter as her great-aunt, something that has been noticed by her classmates who nicknamed her "Warrior Princess" — seemingly in reference to TV heroine Xena. "Apparently she earned that nickname because obviously she is a princess but she is quite a tomboy," royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET. "She loves climbing trees and she's very much an adventurer."

Princess Charlotte and Princess Anne both occupy special places in their families as the only daughters. Perhaps not too surprisingly, both of them have been described as being something of a daddy's girl.

Princess Charlotte drew the attention of royal watchers in 2022 when she was seen walking hand-in-hand with her dad on her way to school. Earlier that year, a viral TikTok showed Princess Charlotte copying her dad's pose at the Commonwealth Games, sitting forward and leaning on her knees with her hands folded between them. The caption read: "L​​ike father like daughter, it is not a coincidence that Princess Charlotte was sitting there in an identical position to that of her father."

Similarly, Princess Anne always had a special bond with her father, Prince Philip. "[Philip] always had more fun with Anne," said Eileen Parker, a friend of the family (via the Daily Mail). "Charles is more like the Queen, while Anne is very like Prince Philip."

With Catherine, Princess of Wales for a mom and the late Princess Diana for a grandmother, perhaps it was inevitable that Princess Charlotte was destined to be a fashion icon. But the budding fashionista is also following in the style footsteps of Anne, Princess Royal. Carine Roitfeld, who formerly worked as the editor of Paris Vogue, once lauded the elder princess as an "underrated fashion icon" (via Grazia). From power suits to colorful coats, there's no doubt that this royal knows a thing or two about merging fashion with functionality, and she makes a point of re-wearing her outfits, too. 

"Princess Anne is a true style icon and was all about sustainable fashion before the rest of us really knew what that meant," British Vogue editor Edward Enninful told Vanity Fair. "She is timeless in her style, and she wears a tailored suit better than anyone else I can think of."

Charlotte, meanwhile, is such a little trendsetter that royal watchers are often inspired to buy fits that the young princess has been seen in, something known as "the Princess Charlotte effect." A 2016 poll conducted by The Telegraph found that one in every five British parents wanted their own kids to mimic Charlotte's style when she was just a year old. "Demand for items Princess Charlotte wears will surge massively on our site," a rep for Alex and Alexa, an online shop specializing in children's clothing, told the outlet.

Provided that King Charles doesn't abolish the monarchy, Princess Charlotte likely has decades of being a working royal ahead of her. Granted, she could go the way of her uncle, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and step down from the ranks of senior royals, but if she stays in the royal fold she will likely follow in the footsteps of Anne, Princess Royal.

Princess Anne is one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, taking on a whopping 214 engagements in 2022 alone. She stays busy with a number of causes — more than 300 to be exact, including Save the Children and Carers Trust. Princess Anne even opted not to go to university, accompanying her mother on royal tours instead. 

Charlotte, of course, is far too young to throw herself into royal work full-time, but she's already been on royal engagements. She went on her first official tour at the tender age of 2, even executing a very princess-like curtsy. While that trip may have been more of her accompanying her parents and her older brother on a trip, she appeared without either of her brothers at the Team England Futures program in 2022. Charlotte was with both of her parents at the engagement, but it was clear that she was already well-trained in making royal appearances, so we can easily see her being a hard-working royal once she comes of age.

While roughly one-third of the British population grows up in a home that speaks more than one language, research from Duolingo shows that just 6% of British adults claim proficiency in a language other than English (via WalesOnline). As noted by the Independent, a 2016 poll sponsored by the European Day of Languages had 35% of respondents agreeing that the U.K. is the worst country in Europe when it comes to acquiring a second language.

Princess Anne is one of the few people in the country who is proficient in another language. She is believed to speak French fluently. While it's possible that Princess Charlotte will learn French herself one day, she's quickly gaining practice in another romance language: Spanish. This is thanks to her nanny, Maria Turrion Borrallo, a Spanish native who began working for the royal family in 2014. Charlotte has picked up some Spanish from Borrallo, although it's unclear just how fluent she is in the language, the fact that she is so adept at picking up a foreign language at a young age bodes well for Charlotte one day being fully bilingual, just like her great-aunt.