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Prince George, Princess Charlotte & Prince Louis Step Out with Will & Kate for Christmas Service
Not all that long ago, Princess Charlotte wouldn't have even been a spare heir. She would've been "just" a princess.
But with the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act retroactively applying to all those born after Oct. 28, 2011, her late gan-gan Queen Elizabeth II and British Parliament made it so that the line of succession would stop skipping over girls in favor of younger brothers. It also meant that a daughter of the heir to the throne would remain in line according to her place in the birth order, rather than get booted down the line by male first cousins.
Though, while third in line to the throne now, Charlotte will be booted by her older brother's children.
She will descend the ladder when Prince George, 11, starts his own family one day, as their uncle Prince Harry (born third in line and now fifth) did when Prince William and Kate Middleton started theirs.
But Charlotte, who's turning 10 on May 2, was always destined to be more than the average spare heir.
And that was way before Travis Kelce deemed her a "superstar," observing on New Heights last year after meeting William, Charlotte and George during a London stop on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour that her dad was "doing it right" when it came to parenting.
William and Kate have put a priority on filling their children's lives with normal activities—maintaining George, Charlotte and now 7-year-old Prince Louis' routine was paramount for the couple while Kate was away from public life undergoing treatment following her cancer diagnosis—while also readying them for their destined lots in life.
Not that having a royal box at every event, including the Eras Tour, is normal, but such outings are very relevant.
And Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Wales happens to have been born to parents who were tasked early on with ensuring that the British royal family remains relevant for the foreseeable future.
Elizabeth II, Charlotte's great-grandmother, was a symbolically unifying figure who saw it all—globally and within her own family—over the course of her historic 70-year reign as the monarchy's influence on the world stage expanded and contracted over time.
King Charles III ascended the throne when his mother died Sept. 8, 2022, and William became the Prince of Wales (the title historically given to the eldest son of the monarch) and first in line to the throne.
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When Charlotte was born in 2015, in a post-Succession to the Crown Act world, much was made of her spare-heir status. The term dates back to the late 1800s, when American Consuelo Vanderbilt described her two children with the 9th Duke of Marlborough as "the heir and the spare."
Opinions flooded in as to how she could avoid being too much like, well... like her Uncle Harry, who had a famously rocky young adulthood being "too much army, not enough prince," as he himself characterized his behavior years before he aired his grievances in his 2023 memoir Spare.
Charlotte's other namesake, her late grandmother Princess Diana, was also well aware of the term when Harry was born in 1984.
Diana strove to strike the right balance between honoring William's destiny and making Harry feel just as special. She also famously wanted her sons to experience life outside the literal and proverbial palace walls, taking them with her to visit homeless shelters and hospital patients.
Apparently Diana also saw a sparkle in Harry that made him more of a natural people person than his brother.
She privately called Harry "GKH"—for "Good King Harry"—"because she thought he'd probably be better equipped for the role in the future than William," royals correspondent Robert Jobson said in 2019 on the Channel 5 special William & Harry: Princes At War?
Birth order, however, ruled the day.
A million developments later, Harry isn't even a senior royal anymore, having decamped with his wife Meghan Markle to the United States in 2020 to do his own similar-looking but independently-financed thing away from the crushing glare of the U.K. tabloids.
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"He wasn't going to be happy living his life in William's shadow," royal biographer Katie Nicholl told E! News in 2015 when Charlotte was born, discussing Harry's spare heir status. "He recognized that not being the heir gave him a greater freedom. When William said he wanted to be a policeman so he could look after their mother, Princess Diana, his little brother shot back, 'You can't because you've got to be king.'"
Long before he became king, Charles had envisioned a slimmed-down monarchy, one in which fewer members of his family were considered full-timers (and therefore partaking of the public money that helps keep the Firm up and running). But by all accounts his smaller troop of senior royals would have included his younger son, who was historically very popular in Britain and beyond but has since ended up on the opposing side of a public opinion divide.
In fact, Charlotte could do much worse in the popularity department than generating the sort of warm, at times parental, feelings the public had for Harry when he was a working royal bachelor.
But so far she has distinguished herself in best-case-scenario ways—as a smart, spirited child with a thousand-watt smile and a charmer with a spot-on royal wave. Known in casual circles as Lottie Wales, she loves olives and the color pink. She takes ballet and tap. She attends Lambrook School in Berkshire with her brothers.
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And the kids at Charlotte's previous school, Thomas's Battersea, called her "warrior princess."
"She earned that nickname because obviously she is a princess but she is quite a tomboy," Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight in 2019. "She loves climbing trees and she's very much an adventurer.
Moreover, Charlotte won't have the expectations foisted upon her that will be foisted upon her older brother—other than the general expectation that she try not to embarrass the family too much.
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That being said, no one—future king or not—has managed to not embarrass the family at all, so she shouldn't feel too pressured to be perfect.
As Kate and William's only daughter, there will always be heightened interest in what Charlotte is up to, and everything from her fashion (the "Charlotte Effect" has already pumped many pounds into the U.K. retail economy), to her education and extracurriculars, to her eventual choice of mate will the get the once- (and twice-, and third-) over.
But the possibilities are endless, especially considering she has modernity on her side. As the first girl in her storied family who will keep her place in the line of succession over her younger brother, the role of spare heir will be whatever she makes of it.
Keep reading for a roundup of the biggest news that royals have made so far in 2025:
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Former Bodyguard to Prince Harry and Prince William Dies
Graham Craker—who acted as a bodyguard for the royal family, including Prince Harry and Prince William—died at the age of 77 in April.
Craker was notably with the boys when they learned their mother, Princess Diana, had died and he participated in her funeral services.
On the latter, Craker told The New York Post in 2017, "I was standing at the rear of the hearse and William looked up and acknowledged me. I looked toward him and nodded. William was comforted that I was with his mum on her final journey.”
(Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
The Duke and Duchess of Westminster Expecting Their First Baby
Hugh Grosvenor, who is King Charles III’s godson, and his wife Olivia Grosvenor announced March 12 that she is pregnant with their first baby.
“The duchess is expecting a baby in the summer,” a spokesperson told The Telegraph. “The couple are delighted with the news and are very much looking forward to starting a family together.”
The PolG Foundation
Luxembourg's Prince Fredrik Dies at 22
Prince Frederik—the son of Prince Robert and his wife Princess Julie—died March 1 at 22 years old after a battle with PolG mitochondrial disease, a rare genetic disorder.
"Frederik knows that he is my Superhero, as he is to all of our family, and to so very many good friends and now in great part thanks to his PolG Foundation, to so very many people the world over," Robert said in a statement. "Part of his superpower was his ability to inspire and to lead by example."
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Prince Harry Reaches Settlement in U.K. Tabloids Lawsuit
The Duke of Sussex reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers—which is responsible for The Sun as well as the now defunct News of the World—on Jan. 22 after suing the organization in 2019 over alleged unlawful actions on the part of journalists and private investigators working for the newspapers to obtain information on the royal family.
The deal included the company paying "substantial damages," as well as issuing a "full and unequivocal apology" to Harry and public acknowledgement of "the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales,” per NBC News.
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Kate Middleton Is in Remission After Finishing Chemotherapy for Cancer
The Princess of Wales announced on Jan. 14 that she's in remission after complete cancer treatments.
"It is a relief to now be in remission and I remain focused on recovery," she wrote in a message on X, formerly Twitter, Jan. 14. "As anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know, it takes time to adjust to a new normal."
"I am however looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead," she continued. "There is much to look forward to."
Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
Meghan Markle's Longtime Dog Guy Dies
The Duchess of Sussex mourned the death of her beloved rescue beagle, who she adopted in 2015 before meeting husband Prince Harry.
She wrote on Instagram Jan. 7, "I have cried too many tears to count - the type of tears that make you get in the shower with the absurd hope that the running water on your face will somehow make you not feel them, or pretend they’re not there. But they are. And that’s okay too."
"Thank you for so many years of unconditional love, my sweet Guy," Meghan added. "You filled my life in ways you’ll never know."
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Prince William Mourns Death of Former Nanny's Stepson
Edward "Ed" Pettifer—stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry's former nanny Alexandra Pettifer, also known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke—was one of the victims of the New Year's Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.
"Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer," William said in a message posted on Kate Middleton's Instagram Stories Jan. 4. "Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack."
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Meghan Markle Rejoins Instagram to Reveal New Netflix Show
The Suits alum—who shut down her personal social media accounts shortly before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry—debuted a solo Instagram page on Jan. 1.
A day later, she announced a new Netflix series titled With Love, Meghan, which "reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming, blending practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old," according to a press release.
This story was originally published on Friday, May 1, 2020 at 11 p.m. PT.
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