What awaits sporty Princess Charlotte in her 11th year?

Footage of her bowling during a game of beach cricket with her family, released by the Prince and Princess of Wales to mark her 11th birthday on 2 May, shows not only previously unseen cricketing skills but also an assurance familiar to anyone who has seen her during her occasional public appearances. 

The video also shows her creative side as she marks out a message in stones on the Cornish shoreline, as well as her devotion to the family’s cocker spaniels, Orla and Otto. 

On the face of it, the images of a family holiday show the children having an ordinary, carefree childhood. But the posting of a carefully-cut montage is also a reminder that they will eventually find a role in the public sphere. 

While there is no set role for Charlotte as there is for Prince George, there are various models that she might choose to follow. 

Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, says that there are two titles that she could receive if she chooses to play a prominent royal role. 

The Wales’s Cornish holiday, which was also the backdrop for footage released of her brother Prince Louis’s 8th birthday nine days earlier, follows a series of bright and confident appearances from the children at public events. 

Charlotte waved breezily to bystanders as she arrived with her family at the Easter service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. During the Christmas walk to St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham, she stopped to pose for selfies and even to hug well-wishers. 

In one telling encounter, Charlotte placed a reassuring hand on her elder brother George’s back as he listened to a royal fan tell him that “Granny Diana” would be proud of him. Robert says that it struck him as an instinctive gesture of support in an unusual situation. 

“George is a little bit reticent about [royal superfans]. When she put her hand on his back, I think that’s natural. There’s no training. They learn by observation.” 

Emily Nash, HELLO!‘s royal editor, recalls that Charlotte has always been “fairly comfortable” in front of the cameras. 

“Even as a little girl visiting a newborn Prince Louis for the first time, she had a ready wave,” she says. “Her parents are introducing their children to the spotlight in a careful and controlled way, and she seems to be taking these occasional forays into public life in her stride so far.” 

Seal of approval

The cricketing footage delighted Kate Cross, medium-fast bowler for the England women’s cricket team. 

“I was most impressed at what a natural bowling action she has,” Kate tells HELLO!. “She made bowling look effortless.” 

Charlotte’s ability should be no surprise. William and Kate often show their competitive side in sporting activities during official engagements. During their trip to New Zealand in 2014, William bowled while Kate batted in a pair of high heels. 

Emily says that Kate was “a brilliant sportswoman” at school. 

“It seems that Charlotte has inherited her natural ability. Like her brothers, she has been brought up spending plenty of time outdoors and has no doubt had lots of practice at Lambrook, which offers an all-weather surface cricket pitch.” 

Charlotte is expected to attend the King’s official birthday celebrations at Trooping the Colour on 13 June and to visit the royal box at the Wimbledon tennis championships in July, which Kate attends regularly in her role as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. 

Charlotte has accompanied her mother to the men’s singles final every year since 2023. 

She is also a keen footballer, with William once telling the Lionesses: “Charlotte wants me to tell you she’s really good in goal… a budding star for the future.” She watched the England women’s football team beat Spain in the European Championship final in Switzerland last year, when she met Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía of Spain. If William travels to North America for the World Cup this summer, in his capacity as patron of the Football Association, she would no doubt be a willing companion. But there is no word yet on whether she will attend.

Further ahead, Charlotte is due to stay at Lambrook for another two years, attending alongside Louis but without George, who leaves at the end of the summer term. George is expected to take a place at boarding school, keeping him away from home  for much of the year. 

What is certain is that the monarchy will be following a new model by the time she is an adult. The King and Prince William are understood to be pursuing a “slimmed-down monarchy” and there have been no preparations to replace the older working members of the extended family, such as the Duke of Kent, 90, or Princess Alexandra, 89. 

Queen Elizabeth II’s example

One avenue previously pursued by a British princess only in wartime would be to undergo military training. Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, became the first woman in the royal family to become a full-time active member of the armed services, in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. It is a path followed by four continental European princesses: Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Princess Leonor of Spain, Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. 

Robert says that “given the quality in the British military, and [that] Queen Elizabeth II served in the war, I would have thought that if Charlotte chose to do that, it wouldn’t be a bad idea”. 

Emily says that William and Kate are adamant that their children should choose their own paths. “They want their children to have the freedom to explore their passions and interests in life before the pressures of royal life set in – and most of all to enjoy being children while they are still young. For now, it’s all about family life and a stable and nurturing home from which she and her brothers can grow.” 

Charlotte is surrounded by a loving family. She is a year younger than her second cousin Mia Tindall and dotes on her four younger cousins born to Kate’s sister Pippa Matthews and brother James Middleton. The young princess enjoys a close relationship with the King, Robert says. “He totally adores her. She loves it when he reads to her in his funny voices. They don’t call him Grandpa King, they call him Grandpa Wales.” 

If Charlotte were to prefer a sporting career over formal royal duties, she would have the support of England’s most talented cricketers. Lauren Bell, an England women’s team and Southern Brave bowler who is due to play at the Women’s T20 World Cup in June, says that Charlotte reminded her of herself when she played cricket with her sister at her local club. “That is how it started for me and now I’m an England bowler,” Lauren tells HELLO!. “If Princess Charlotte ever wants a few tips on how to get her brothers out, I’d only be too glad to help.”

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