What you need to know
The late Queen Elizabeth rarely spoke publicly about her family life. But one astute observation about two of her great-grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, may foreshadow their royal future.
At a church service in Sandringham in January 2018, the Queen presented a Bible to Elder Emily and spoke to Ellen Clay, the mother of her two daughters. Hello! According to reports, the Queen asked Ellen if Emily was “looking after” her sister Hadley, to which her mother replied, “On the contrary.”
The Queen replied: “So do Charlotte and George.”
Ellen’s husband, Tom, recalled: “The Queen hinted that Princess Charlotte was keeping an eye on George, rather than the other way around. It’s common for younger children to be more confident. It’s second-born syndrome.”
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The monarch’s views echoed comments George and Charlotte’s mother Kate Middleton made when her daughter was just two years old.
At an event in March 2017, the then Duchess of Cambridge told other attendees: “Princess Charlotte is growing up really fast. She’s in charge.”
Although the Prince and Princess of Wales’ children have grown up, it seems the Queen’s point still rings true. Princess Charlotte made headlines for showing confidence in royal protocol by reminding Prince George to bow during the Queen’s funeral in September 2022.
George and Charlotte may end up having a similar relationship to that of King Charles and his sister Princess Anne. The two share a two-year age difference, and their sibling bond may help alleviate the intense competition.
Princess Anne has long been a trusted senior royal, taking care of patronage parties, royal tours, investitures, and more, earning her a reputation as the hardest-working royal in the family. Anne always seemed to be a stable presence for her older brothers, despite being lower than them in the inheritance hierarchy due to the male-dominated primogeniture system (which has since been changed).
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Although King Charles surpassed his sister in 2025 to record the highest number of contracts that year, Anne’s contributions remain notable and numerous. If the late Queen’s judgment is correct, Princess Charlotte might someday find herself providing similar support to her brother when he becomes king.
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Princess Diana famously wanted her sons Prince William and Prince Harry to grow up together, and royal experts have lamented how heartbreaking it was for the late Princess of Wales to see her sons estranged.
“We all remember the days when Prince Harry and Prince William were joking around. Their relationship and their future seemed all set. As Princess Diana always said, Prince Harry would be Prince William’s sidekick,” Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton told PEOPLE in an August 2025 cover story. “It’s a huge loss to the monarchy.”
She continued: “Princess Diana always said she had two boys for a reason. The younger one was to support the older boy in his lonely role as future king. There is no doubt that Princess Diana was trying to act as a peacemaker between them. If Princess Diana had existed, they would have worked things out differently.”
