Most little girls grow up with a dream of one day becoming a princess.
But for Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her tenth birthday today, those hopes lie in the world of dance.
Like her grandmother, Princess Diana, Charlotte is known to enjoy performances by the Royal Ballet.
And the youngster has been spotted dancing alongside family members at events – including at a Taylor Swift concert in Wembley last summer and at the King’s Coronation in 2023.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have both previously spoken about Charlotte’s love of dancing.
William and Kate signed their daughter up for private ballet lessons when she was three and mentioned at an engagement in 2023 that Charlotte ‘loves ballet and tap’.
Last Christmas, the Princess was surprised with a ballet performance at Kate’s carol concert.
Princess Charlotte, who turns ten today, is pictured on her ninth birthday last year
Charlotte is pictured enjoying the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle in May 2023
The young princess met Taylor Swift after her Wembley gig in June last year
When the service was filmed on December 6, Kate said that she had enlisted Prince Louis to help keep the performance by soloists from the Royal Ballet a secret.
Kate revealed to singer Paloma Faith: ‘He’s kept the secret! This is [for] what, maybe two weeks?’
Charlotte appeared awed as she watched from the front row, with royal observers noticing that she was stood in a ballet stance as she watched the performance – as her grandmother frequently did.
The princess may have inherited her love of dance from Diana, who studied ballet in her youth and had hoped to turn professional.
Sadly she grew too tall to continue, but the passion remained.
Diana continued to study ballet as a hobby, and took hundreds of secret lessons with dance teacher Anne Allan from 1981 to 1989.
Allan shared some snippets of her time with Diana in her book, Dancing With Diana.
Kate revealed to singer Paloma Faith, ‘He’s kept the secret! This is [for] what, maybe two weeks?’
Charlotte is seen dancing with George at the Coronation Concert in 2023
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Prince Louis DID manage to keep his secret! Charlotte looks on in awe at surprise ballet performance
‘She loved to dance. The minute she started to move her arms, you could see the feeling that it brought her,’ Allan told People.
Diana went on to become patron of the English National Ballet and enjoyed dancing so much that she put on a surprise display at London’s Royal Opera House.
‘She loved dancing; she was a fantastic dancer,’ William said of his mother while speaking with Tamara Rojo, the English National Ballet’s artistic director, shortly after the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death.
Charlotte, who has a wide range of hobbies including gymnastics and tennis, was given an extra-special treat for her eighth birthday when Kate brought her and friends to a ballet performance of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House in London.
Kate is so committed to fostering her daughter’s love for ballet that she even reportedly arranged lessons for Charlotte while she and William were away on a royal tour of the Caribbean in 2022.
Ballet is steeped in royal history, with most female members of the Royal Family enjoying the artform.
It originated in the royal courts of Europe during the Renaissance period and it was often used as a way for monarchs to showcase their power and wealth.
Many European monarchs, such as Louis XIV of France, were enthusiastic patrons of ballet and helped to promote its development.
Diana studied ballet as a hobby, and took hundreds of secret ballet lessons with dance teacher Anne Allan from 1981 to 1989
Diana is pictured with Wayne Sleep dancing to Uptown Girl on stage at a Friends of Covent Garden gala at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1985. The dance was a surprise present from the princess to her husband Charles
Diana dances with Charles during a gala dinner dance on October 31, 1985, in Melbourne,
In February 2020, Duchess Sophie officially opened the Central School of Ballet’s new studios, named in her honour, on the South Bank in Southwark.
The Countess of Wessex studios in Paris Gardens feature seven studios, a fully equipped studio theatre, study and resource centres, as well as a state-of-the-art health suite.
Sophie became patron of the Central School of Ballet in 2003 and is known to have a love of dance.
Meanwhile, Princess Beatrice is a Royal Patron of the English National Ballet School and practiced ballet as a child.
As Kate slowly returned to public duties last year, one of the first places she visited was the ballet, where she watched a performance of the English National Ballet’s Giselle at Sadler’s Wells in London.
The Duchess Of York with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the Children in Crisis charity pantomime in London in 1999
Camilla with Elaine Paige and Angela Rippon as she visits the Royal Academy of Dance to learn about the Silver Swans programme, an initiative which delivers ballet classes specially designed for over 55s, in February 2018
And Queen Camilla has previously opened up about her Silver Swans ballet lessons.
She said: ‘I do a bit of Silver Swans myself. The ladies today would rather show me up. I do love it.
‘I had certainly never done ballet before, and it doesn’t matter whether you have done ballet or not, it’s something that will make you feel better.
‘It gives you a certain amount of confidence in yourself; it’s just a bit of discipline.’
Ballet was one of Princess Diana’s great loves, and it provided her with an escape from the pressures of her life in the limelight.
But a love for dance is not the only thing she would share with her granddaughter Charlotte.
Charlotte is pictured with George in 2019 as they prance around Billingbear Polo Club
Charlotte has angelic features similar to Diana’s
Charlotte with William, Kate and her brothers George and Louis in September last year
The late Princess of Wales had one of the most recognisable faces in the world, and with the world’s eyes now on her, Charlotte stands tall, with angelic features just like Diana’s.
And while we will never know what Diana would think of Charlotte’s love for modern-day pop stars like Taylor Swift, hopefully the young royal will continue to find joy through a hobby which brings her close to her grandmother.