Princess Charlotte Holds a Very Important Role "For the First Time in British History"

Princess Charlotte pulling her sunglasses down her nose — (Image credit: Getty Images)

At 10 years old, Princess Charlotte is already one of the most beloved members of the Royal Family. Prince William and Princess Kate have been careful to give her as normal of a childhood as possible, with Charlotte enjoying hobbies like ballet, netball and arts and crafts. Despite living a (relatively) average tween existence, Charlotte actually holds a unique and historic position in the Royal Family.

“For the first time in British history, the spare is a princess, even though she has a younger brother,” said historian Dr. Nige Fletcher in a new Channel 5 documentary exploring the roles of heirs and spares to the throne (via the Daily Mail). “Princess Charlotte is in line after George, after a change in the law, and she now outranks her brother, Louis.”

The new law was passed ahead of Prince George’s 2013 birth and threw out male primogeniture, meaning if Charlotte had been born before big brother Prince George, she would've become Queen. This also means that princesses like Charlotte will keep their place in the line of succession, even if brothers are born down the line.

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Princess Charlotte in a turquoise dress smiling — Princess Charlotte, seen at Trooping the Colour, is the first female spare in the British Royal Family.

Princess Charlotte waving at the coronation in a white cape standing next to Prince Louis, gesturing with his palms — Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are seen at The King's coronation in 2023.

Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis talking to Prince William sitting in a row — Charlotte, George and Louis are seen chatting with dad Prince William at the VE Day commemorations in May.

In the new documentary, historian and author Tom Quinn noted that Prince William and Princess Kate's children are facing a different royal existence than Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, or Prince Harry and Prince William.

Unlike Princess Charlotte, Princess Anne was not the "spare" to her older brother, Charles. Because she was a girl, her younger brother, Prince Andrew, became next in line to the throne, and Quinn said that with George, Charlotte and Louis, the new rule "will make things a lot easier because there won't be two males like two deer clashing antlers anymore."

Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary Ailsa Anderson also weighed in on the Channel 5 program, sharing that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will get to enjoy a greater "freedom and choice than their father had."

Various royal sources have hinted that Charlotte and Louis might not even take on full-time royal roles one day.

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.