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Princess Charlotte could follow in her uncle, Prince Harry and great aunt, Princess Margaret’s footsteps, a royal expert has reported. The 10-year-old, who is the middle daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, faces a potentially ‘very difficult’ phase as she navigates life as the ‘spare’ royal. (Picture: Getty Images)
ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship has stated that, while young Charlotte holds a prominent place within the senior royal family, she may fade into the background due to the attention her older brother, Prince George, 12, will likely receive. This is of course, due to his position as heir to the throne. (Picture: Getty Images)
While Charlotte still attends high-profile events with her parents and siblings, which also includes the younger Prince Louis, seven, Ship has stressed that she will need to ‘face the fact’ that the limelight will always be on George. ‘It’s a very difficult position to be in,’ Ship added, pointing to both Harry and Margaret’s struggles as the ‘spare’ — which was coincidentally the name of his 2023 memoir — in the past. (Picture: Getty Images)
For example, the late Princess Margaret famously struggled living in her sister, Queen Elizabeth II’s, shadow. Examples include her forbidden relationship with RAF officer Peter Townsend (which was depicted in Netflix’s The Crown), and her mental health and alcohol consumption struggles. (Picture: Getty Images)
In terms of Harry, he recounted in Spare the story of how his father, King Charles, supposedly said to his wife, Princess Diana, on the day of Harry’s birth: ‘Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare — my work is done.’ He also wrote about being in William’s ‘shadow,’ calling his brother and himself: ‘The Heir and the Spare.’ ‘There was no judgment about it, but also no ambiguity. I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy,’ he added. (Picture: Getty Images)
Harry continued: ‘I was summoned to provide backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow. This was all made explicitly clear to me from the start of life’s journey and regularly reinforced thereafter.’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Ship suggested: ‘There are comparisons between Margaret and Prince Harry; both being spares to the heir without a role of their own. Margaret must have wondered what the point of her even being there was, as it was all about her older sister. It’s a very difficult position to be in, and it’s probably something Princess Charlotte will also have to come to terms with, when George eventually becomes king and she has to find a role for herself.’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Despite this theory, Princess Charlotte has proved many times that she’s her own person. For example, during her mother Kate’s annual Together at Christmas carol concert, the pair performed a piano duet together. Elsewhere, she has also portrayed herself as a protective older sister on many occasions, including King Charles’ 2023 Coronation Duty, at 2022’s Commonwealth Games, and her 2023 Wimbledon Debut. (Picture: Getty Images)
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