The Gist
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis charmed crowds on Christmas morning at the Sandringham estate.
While mingling with well-wishers, Charlotte, 10, gently patted her 12-year-old older brother’s back in a show of support and reassurance.
The moment has gone viral—and says much about the royal family’s future.
It was an unspoken, almost unnoticed moment that spoke volumes—as siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte mingled with well-wishers at Sandringham on Christmas morning, Charlotte put her arm on George’s back, a reassuring gesture that their mother Kate Middleton often does to their father Prince William. The subtle, quiet gesture was a sign of the close bond the siblings share, and a hint of the support Charlotte will continue to be for her older brother as he approaches the throne in the future.
Getty
Prince George and Princess Charlotte on December 6, 2024
“I was genuinely impressed by how polite the Wales children are and how gracefully they handle the spotlight, meeting strangers and engaging with the crowd,” according to Alexandra Hurtado of Hello!. “They’ve clearly taken after their parents, exhibiting the same poise and charm.”
Getty
Kate Middleton and Prince William on October 14, 2025
According to The Telegraph, that small pat on the back from Charlotte might have been “the smallest of gestures,” but the outlet added that it “tells the biggest story of our emerging monarchy.” In a moment that might have been completely missed were it not for camera phones, “It reveals to the watching world how the monarchy is changing in front of our eyes with the coming of the next generation, and how well William and Catherine’s children are being prepared for their lives in the spotlight.”
Getty
Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte on Christmas morning 2025
Of the Christmas morning walk to church at St. Mary Magdalene, “They seemed to take it in their stride,” a source told The Telegraph. “Don’t forget, they’ve grown up with it.”
Yet, though George, Charlotte, and Prince Louis are growing up in the royal fishbowl, the Prince and Princess of Wales also desire a modicum of privacy and normality for their three children. “There is nothing that is more important to them,” an insider said. “They want their children to have happy, normal childhoods, just like any parent would.”
Yet, royal journalist Phil Dampier said, the kids “are getting used to dealing with crowds and speaking to people—they can’t shield them from that forever. And it looks like they [George, Charlotte, and Louis] have the tools to deal with their future roles. The future of the monarchy depends on them. In 10 years’ time, they will be the stars.”
Getty Images
Prince William with his three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, at the 2025 “Together at Christmas” carol service.
Charlotte, in particular, has her late great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s “poise and maturity,” Dampier added. “Not only does she look like her great-grandmother, she also seems to have inherited her calmness.”
When it comes to George and Charlotte in particular at public functions, Charlotte makes sure he sticks to royal protocol. At the Platinum Jubilee honoring the late Queen in June 2022, the royal family stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony for a rendition of “God Save the Queen.” George, then 8, put his hand on the balcony ledge, but Charlotte, then 7, corrected him, telling him to fix his posture. Three months later, at their great-grandmother’s funeral, Charlotte told George, “You need to bow.”
Getty
Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Platinum Jubilee on June 5, 2022
Their mother the Princess of Wales has acknowledged that “Charlotte is growing up really fast. She is the one in charge.” Though George will be king someday, Charlotte is emerging as a backbone of the royal family—and her Christmas morning pat on the back is proof of that.
William and Kate “pretty much lavish equal attention on all three, while at the same time nurturing their distinct and different personalities,” royal biographer Christopher Andersen told Harper’s Bazaar. “The good thing is that Charlotte and Louis can share the burden, if one wishes to call it that.”
Getty
Princess Charlotte and Prince George
Of George and Charlotte specifically, a source previously told People that “They are close in age, and they spend so much time together. Playdates [with outsiders] can be tricky, so they learn to lean on each other.” It’s a bond that will benefit them both for decades to come.
Getty
Prince George and Princess Charlotte on July 13, 2025
“Theirs is a unique existence,” child psychologist Dr. Alison McClymont told The Daily Express of George, now 12, and Charlotte, 10. “Very few people can relate to that level of scrutiny or responsibility, so the fact that they get to do this together and to share the burden and joy of the role is key.”
Read the original article on InStyle