Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte Share the Sweetest Moment

Princess Charlotte attended her mother Kate Middleton’s annual “Together at Christmas” carol concert at Westminster Abbey on December 5—the fifth iteration of the royal holiday tradition—and shared the sweetest moment with the Princess of Wales.
Kate arrived a bit earlier to the Abbey than her husband Prince William and kids Prince George, Charlotte, and Prince Louis, and when her family arrived on Friday evening, the princess broke into a mile-wide grin at the sight of them. While greeting her only daughter in particular, both mother and daughter’s faces lit up as they saw one another.
Charlotte has been especially close to her mother her entire life, and Kate even drew comparisons to the 10-year-old earlier this week, with many noting that her long, straight brunette hair—on display at the German state visit on December 3—closely resembled Charlotte’s. Charlotte has been described as “a bit of a mini-me” to the Princess of Wales, according to a palace source speaking to People earlier this year.
“She is quite a strong character,” an insider continued of Charlotte, calling her “almost wise beyond her years.” A source added that Charlotte is “a natural and has taken to royal events like a duck to water.”
It has been a busy week for the Princess of Wales, who, along with William, greeted Germany’s President and First Lady as they arrived in the U.K. on Wednesday before dazzling at the state banquet at Windsor Castle later that evening, wearing a glittery Jenny Packham gown and a new-to-her tiara, Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara.
“She has perfected what eluded many before her—combining majesty with approachability, tradition with modernity, duty with humanity,” royal biographer Robert Jobson told Hello!. “It’s a delicate balance that has defeated countless royals throughout history—too formal and you’re remote, too casual and you diminish the Crown. Kate inhabits that impossible middle ground as if born to it. She wasn’t—that makes it even more remarkable. She doesn’t just represent the monarchy, she embodies its evolution. She is the jewel in the Crown.”
Speaking specifically of the state banquet, Jobson added that “As ever Kate stole the show—not through effort, but through innate excellence. She pulls it off every time. The extraordinary looks routine. The difficult appears effortless—that’s the real magic.”