Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career Money
    • Health Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes amp; Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • NYFW
    • Life In Plastic
    • Cari Champion
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Psychosis
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Princess Charlotte Looks Like Both the Queen and Prince William in Her New Birthday Portraits

    In their defense, this is a tough one.

    By Kayleigh Roberts
    Published 2 May 2020 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    The Queen, Princess Charlotte and Prince William
    (Image credit: Instagram)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter
    • This weekend, Kensington Palace released Princess Charlotte's fifth birthday portraits, which were taken by her mother, Kate Middleton.
    • While royal fans have noticed for years just how much Charlotte resembles a young Queen Elizabeth II, the princess' newest portraits highlighted another strong family resemblance—the one between Charlotte and her father, Prince William.
    • In April, when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's youngest child, Prince Louis, celebrated his second birthday, a friend of Kate's revealed that Louis is the only one of her kids who she thinks looks like her.

    Princess Charlotte's latest set of birthday portraits prove just how quickly the five-year-old royal is growing up before our very eyes. We can all agree on that point, yes? Good.

    After seeing Charlotte's new birthday picture, however, royal fans are split on another point: Which of her royal relatives the young princess looks the most like.

    For years now, there's been a strong contingent on people who shout from the rooftops just how much Charlotte looks like a young Queen Elizabeth. Here, for your comparing convenience, is Charlotte's new birthday portrait next to a photo of Elizabeth from 1935, when she was just a few years older than Charlotte is now:

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    The Queen and Princess Charlotte

    (Image credit: Instagram)

    Upon seeing the newest pictures of the young princess, however, many royal fans were struck by just how much she's growing to resemble her dad, Prince William. While it might be hard to imagine it now, with 2020 William in mind, the resemblance becomes clear when you look at Charlotte's new birthday portrait next to a photo of Will from 1988, not long after his sixth birthday:

    Prince William and Princess Charlotte

    (Image credit: Instagram)

    The eyebrows. The mischievous grins. We totally see it.

    You may like
    • Princess Charlotte wearing a white dress with a matching bow in her long brown hair attending Trooping the Colour 2026 with the Royal Family Expert Says Princess Charlotte Is Doing "All the Heavy Lifting"
    • Princess Charlotte wears a two-tone brown coat dress and gazes up at dad Prince William while smiling, she has long brown hair, while her dad wears a navy suit and is balding Princess Charlotte Pays Tribute to Dad Prince William
    • Prince George smiling in a white shirt Prince George Looks Just Like "Shy" Princess Diana in Sweet Video

    There's at least one relative who is bowing out of the "Who Does Charlotte Look Like" competition: Her mom, Kate Middleton.

    A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@dukeandduchessofcambridge)

    A photo posted by on

    Last month, when Will and Kate's youngest child, Prince Louis, celebrated his second birthday, a source close to Kate revealed that Louis is the only Cambridge kid who Kate thinks takes after the Middleton side of the gene pool.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    "Everyone always comments on how Louis is the spitting image of Kate," the friend told People. "She loves it and thinks it’s very sweet; she often jokes that he’s the only one of her kids who actually looks like her!"

    A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@dukeandduchessofcambridge)

    A photo posted by on

    For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

    subscribe here

    Related stories

    Princess Charlotte

    (Image credit: Marie Claire)

    Kate Middleton Releases a Previously Unseen Photo 

    Meghan and Harry

    (Image credit: Marie Claire)

    Harry's Life Has Been Turned Upside Down by Moving

    Explore More
    Queen Elizabeth II Princess Catherine Prince William Prince Louis Kensington Palace Princess Charlotte
    Kayleigh Roberts
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

    Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

    Read more
    Queen Elizabeth smiling at Lady Louise
    Royals This Royal’s Approach to Life and Love is Like Queen Elizabeth “All Over Again"
    By Kristin Contino
    Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince George, Prince William, and Princess Kate in Scotland on August 1, 2026
    Royals Princess Kate and Prince William Aren't "Lazy"
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince George, Prince William, and Princess Kate in Scotland on August 1, 2026
    Royals How Kate and William Have "Chosen Schools" for Their Kids
    By Amy Mackelden
    Princess Kate Middleton has long wavy brown hair and wears a black polo neck sweater with a brown blazer
    Royals One Royal Has Become "Very Close" to Princess Kate
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana (1961 - 1997) and Prince Charles at Victoria Station, London, where they will welcome a state delegation from Nigeria, March 1989.
    Royals Why Queen Elizabeth "Was Furious" With Princess Diana
    King Charles wearing a crown at his coronation
    Royals Royal Fans Help "Fix" an "Embarrassing" King Charles Mistake
     
     
    Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince George, Prince William, and Princess Kate in Scotland on August 1, 2026
    Royals How Kate and William Have "Chosen Schools" for Their Kids
    Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attend the launch of The Queen#039;s Baton Relay for the XXI Commonwealth Games at Buckingham Palace on March 13, 2017
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Greeted Prince Philip "Wearing a False Beard"
     
     
    Latest in News
    Jennifer Lopez wears a brown leotard with rare Nike sneakers, embracing Hailey Bieber#039;s jelly shoe sneaker hybrid trend.
    Celebrity Style Jennifer Lopez Is Embracing the Jelly Shoe Hybrid Trend
    Michelle Obama was spotted attending Celine Dion’s concert in Paris, where she made a stylish appearance in a Diotima dress and carried a Liffner bag
    Celebrity Style Michelle Obama Hops on Fall 2026's Suede Bag Trend
     
     
    Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana (1961 - 1997) and Prince Charles at Victoria Station, London, where they will welcome a state delegation from Nigeria, March 1989.
    Royals Why Queen Elizabeth "Was Furious" With Princess Diana
    King Charles wearing a crown at his coronation
    Royals Royal Fans Help "Fix" an "Embarrassing" King Charles Mistake
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.