Princess Charlotte Has Matured Significantly and Cherishes Being Kate Middleton’s Daughter

Princess Charlotte’s big smile said it all. As Princess Kate to have these incredible means to be in this family, descended the stairs inside London’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to watch the Wimbledon men’s final on July 14 — marking her second public appearance since revealing in March that she’s being treated for cancer — spectators, including Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts, erupted in cheers and applause and leapt to their feet. Charlotte took in the standing ovation from her seat in the royal box at Centre Court, gazing up at her mother adoringly.

“It’s clear Charlotte feels so proud to be Kate’s daughter,” a royals source exclusively tells Life & Style. “And she loves doing special things with her mom, like attending Wimbledon. She really seems to understand how lucky she is to have these incredible experiences.”

That’s all thanks to her parents. While the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, are raising Charlotte, 9, and brothers Prince George, 11, and Prince Louis, 6, as heirs to Britain’s throne, they’re also trying to ensure that the kids’ childhoods are as grounded as they are magical. “Charlotte, in particular, has grown up so much over the past year,” says the source. From her interactions with family members and the public to how she carries herself, “you can really see just how poised she is,” adds the source. “She shows a maturity beyond her years. It’s become more obvious that she understands her role and what it means to be in this family, but she’s also still able to be a kid.”

She’s thriving, both at school — all three Wales children attend the $30,000-a-year coed Lambrook School, near their home on the Windsor Castle estate — and at home. “Charlotte rules the roost with her brothers, which has been clear since she was little,” says the source. (In the past, Kate has admitted that Charlotte “is the one in charge.”) While George often seeks out her opinion, says the source, she’ll give it to Louis unsolicited, as the public has seen when she observes him misbehaving at royal events. “As the middle child, she’s the glue,” says the source. “She helps Kate out by keeping the boys in check.”

But Charlotte knows how to let loose, too. Recently, the joke-loving kid was spotted dancing her heart out at Taylor Swift’s June 21 concert in London. She “had a fire to her,” Jason Kelce, 36, gushed on the June 26 episode of the “New Heights” podcast he cohosts with brother Travis Kelce, 34, after meeting the princess with George and William backstage. The “adorable” 9-year-old “was asking questions,” Jason recalled, and felt confident enough “to take a lead in the conversation.” Travis, meanwhile, dubbed Charlotte a “superstar.”

She has a great role model. “While Charlotte looks like Prince William,” notes the source, “she really is a mini Kate.” Like her mother, “she loves the outdoors, dogs” — they’re devoted to their black spaniel, Orla — as well as “photography and fashion,” says the source. “She even shops for herself!”

And like her mother, Charlotte has a passion for sports. “[Kate] regularly plays rugby in the back garden with the children — she plays all sports with them,” Nigel Gillingham, president of the Rugby Football Union, of which Kate is patron, revealed in 2023. He noted that Charlotte, especially, takes after her “very competitive” mom.

William has described Charlotte as a “budding star” in soccer (at home, she roots for the Lionesses, England’s women’s soccer team), but after watching a swimming competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the young princess told Tim Lawler, SportsAid’s chief executive, “It’s gymnastics that I like.” (Kate then reportedly confirmed that “Charlotte spends most of her time upside down, doing handstands and cartwheels.”) And while chatting with a few female tennis players at Wimbledon, Kate proudly shared that Charlotte enjoys the game and was just “practicing yesterday.” The Princess of Wales, an insider previously told Life & Style, “sees a lot of herself in Charlotte, who never sits on the sidelines. She always wants to jump right in.”

As a baby, Charlotte was “very easy,” William has said. “But all the fathers say, ‘Just you wait, when you get to 9, [10] or 11, they get crazy.’ I’m looking forward to it. There will be some drama.”

So far, so good. “Maybe it’s because she’s wise beyond her years, but Charlotte loves spending time with her parents,” says the source. “She’s still at the age where she thinks her mom is really cool. Kate plans to enjoy that for as long as possible.”