Princess Kate Was Left Blushing After Princess Charlotte’s Cheeky Gesture at Royal Event

Princess Charlotte closeup at Sandringham Christmas — (Image credit: Getty)

One of our favorite parts of Princess Charlotte? Her feisty personality—which, can’t lie to you, we can’t wait to see play out over the years. Especially when it comes to keeping her brothers in check—both older brother Prince George and younger brother Prince Louis—the “Charlotte in charge” mentality is a thing, but even when she’s not making everyone toe the line, Charlotte is a hoot. Case in point? One of her early public appearances alongside her parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales (then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) which took place in 2019.

Charlotte’s cheeky behavior left her mom, Kate, in shock, reports The Mirror. Charlotte was attending a sailing regatta on the Isle of Wight alongside her parents and her grandparents, Michael and Carole Middleton. Charlotte, then just four years old, looked out a window with her mom, waving to people standing below them. And then—Charlotte stuck out her tongue.

Princess Charlotte sticks out her tongue with mom Kate Middleton behind her

“Kate didn’t seem overly impressed when she realized what her daughter was doing,” the outlet reports. “Even though she was seen smiling broadly and giggling, she leaned forward to say something to Charlotte before turning her away from the window to make her stop and ushered her on.”

It’s still not totally clear who exactly Charlotte was sticking her tongue out at—if at anyone in particular—but it was probably her grandparents.

And we get to see Charlotte again on Saturday, as she’ll take part in the annual Trooping the Colour celebration, the public birthday fanfare for the monarch held every June. It’ll be King Charles’ first on the throne and will see over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians take part. A parade will go from Buckingham Palace down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade and will close with a Royal Air Force flypast. We can expect to see Charlotte in a carriage for the parade, and later on the Buckingham Palace balcony—but likely not sticking out her tongue this time. (That’d be more like Louis to do these days.)

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.