Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge with her daughter Princess Charlotte, a bridesmaid, following the wedding of her sister Pippa Middleton. Picture: Reuters
A new photograph of Princess Charlotte has been released to mark the young royal’s eighth birthday.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ daughter has a huge smile on her face in the new summery portrait taken by her mother, Catherine, in a garden chair.
The image is captioned: "Wishing Princess Charlotte a very happy birthday! 8 tomorrow."
In the comments section underneath the snap, which was shared on the royal couple's official Instagram page, many have said how much Charlotte looks like her father.
One wrote: “Looks just like her dad!”
Another commented: “She is William’s mini-me.”
Catherine – who also has Prince George, nine, and five-year-old Prince Louis with the future king – is a keen photographer and takes a new picture for each of her children’s birthdays.
A few days prior to Charlotte’s birthday, she and Catherine, and reportedly some of her friends, attended a performance of “Cinderella” by the Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada at the Royal Opera House in London.
A fellow audience member tweeted: “First visit to @TheRoyalOpera in @CoventGardenLDN to see #Cinderella. Wonderful ballet with fabulous performances by a great cast. And who should be in the audience? The Princess of Wales with Princess Charlotte and her friends.”
Charlotte loves dancing, and in 2018, the pair attended a rehearsal of “The Nutcracker” at the legendary venue.
The youngster also started dance lessons from an early age.
Catherine said in 2017: “She absolutely loves it.”
The birthday outing comes ahead of Charlotte“s grandfather King Charles’ coronation on Saturday.
Charlotte and her siblings are expected to join their parents in a carriage behind the king and Queen Consort Camilla for the coronation procession at Westminster Abbey.
The children and their parents will be joined in the procession by the Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, according to The Times newspaper.