CBC Lite Sections News • World Princess Charlotte showing more confidence in public appearances THE ROYAL FASCINATORJanet Davison | CBC News | Posted: January 25, 2026 9:00 AM | Last Updated: 3 hours ago 10-year-old princess, 3rd in line to the throne, has started letting go of her mother's hand Image | BRITAIN-ROYALS/SANDRINGHAM Caption: Princess Charlotte leaves the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on King Charles's Sandringham estate in England. (Hannah McKay/Reuters) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab When Princess Charlotte stepped out in public recently, it was in many ways like previous appearances with her family. Along with her parents, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, she and her brothers Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, 7, smiled and greeted members of the public who had been waiting to see them. But unlike past appearances where Charlotte has stayed close by her mother’s side and held her hand, the 10-year-old showed signs of increasing confidence, setting out on her own. "We are seeing signs of [Charlotte] becoming more independent, but also reminders that she is still, certainly in the eyes of her parents and her family, just supposed to be a normal 10-year-old girl," Justin Vovk, a royal historian and member of the advisory board of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada, said in an interview. At home, Charlotte and her brothers are just kids, Vovk said, noting that appears to be a high priority for William and Catherine. "It's clear that they feel this is very important to their children in giving them stability for their futures and it is something that helps them connect with the general public in the way that previous generations of Royals have struggled with." Image | Britain Royals Caption: Princess Charlotte, fourth from left, with family members after the Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England. (Jon Super/The Associated Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab In that vein, Catherine made it clear the other day that Charlotte is tossing a rugby ball around now and then with her brothers, who have been playing the sport at school. "Charlotte is playing rugby but at home with the family, so she isn't yet at school," the Daily Mail reported Catherine saying during a reception for members of England’s women’s rugby team at Windsor Castle. That Charlotte would be playing rugby at home isn’t necessarily that surprising. "All three of the children seem to have inherited a thorough enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, sports, things like that," said Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, in an interview. "So given that both parents are themselves rugby enthusiasts, it would be surprising if [Charlotte] wasn't playing rugby." Image | 2224923210 Caption: Princess Charlotte, left, and her mother Catherine, Princess of Wales, fan themselves during the men's final at the Wimbledon tennis championships on July 13, 2025, in London. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Charlotte’s public profile is being very "carefully curated" by her parents, Rowbotham said. "They have understood there is considerable press interest in them, in their children, in the Royal Family in general, and that keeping the children entirely out of the public eye is not sensible." Along the way, Charlotte has developed "sufficient confidence in her own right, very possibly more self-confidence than her older brother," Rowbotham said, noting also that she is no longer clutching onto her mother’s hand when they appear in public. * The apprenticeship of Prince George * With move to 'forever home,' Prince and Princess of Wales could offer hint of 'more egalitarian' monarchy "If she's holding anybody's hand, it's likely to be Louis’s.… There is a definite big sister dynamic between that pair and she very clearly takes seriously her big sister responsibility to tell her … younger brother off for inappropriate behaviour." Charlotte is third in the line of succession for the throne, behind her father and elder brother, George. Changes in 2013 abolished male-preference primogeniture in the succession, meaning a younger son would no longer displace an older daughter. In other words, Louis does not bump Charlotte down the list. As the younger sibling of someone who will be the direct heir to the throne, Charlotte also finds herself in the role of the spare. Image | 2249478968 Caption: Prince George, left, and Princess Charlotte, right, attend the fifth annual Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London on Dec. 5, 2025. George and Charlotte are second and third in line to the throne, respectively. (Aaron Chown/AFP/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab It’s a role that has come under particular scrutiny through the experiences of others who at one point were the younger sibling of the direct heir, whether it was Princess Margaret, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor or Prince Harry. Vovk questions whether the term "the spare heir" has as much currency anymore, at least with the Waleses. "We do see [George] out at certain events with his parents. I'm thinking … when he was meeting with veterans — and certain activities that are important for him to learn in terms of what his constitutional responsibilities will be," said Vovk. "But for the most part, when we see the children out, we see them out together. There doesn't seem to be that much differentiation between George and Charlotte and Louis." King Charles’s younger sister, Princess Anne, was the spare for a few years, before the birth of Andrew in 1960, and Rowbotham says it’s likely that Anne has offered William and Catherine some advice on the matter of being a spare. William and Catherine are, Rowbotham said, trying to concentrate on not pressuring any of their children in any particular direction. She noted, for example, the emergence a few years ago of indications that Prince George would not be put under pressure to automatically join one of the Armed Forces. "They did not say he would not. They very carefully said it's going to be up to him to choose what he wants to do," said Rowbotham. Image | 2219374571 Caption: From left, King Charles, Prince Louis, Prince William, Prince George, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after attending the Trooping the Colour parade in London on June 14, 2025. (Ben StansallAFP/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab "And I think they're very carefully taking the same approach, trying to make sure that Charlotte has a sense that she can grow up to be pretty much who she wants to be." Still, Charlotte is likely to have more opportunity to chart her own course than George will. "Because she is not expected to become the sovereign, she has a degree of quote-unquote freedom in terms of being able to choose causes a little bit more broadly than George does," Vovk said. "I think we will learn a lot about her in the coming years just by the projects she becomes involved in." William and Catherine are ensuring Charlotte mixes with enough people who can show her alternatives to just being a working royal, Rowbotham said. "That, I think, is a careful strategy to ensure that she doesn't feel she is just the spare." Image | 2257425971 Caption: Prince Harry leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, England, on Wednesday. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Back to battle the media again Prince Harry was back in court in London this past week, continuing his legal battles with the media. But this most recent time in the witness box turned emotional. His voice cracked in the High Court as he spoke of how alleged media intrusion "made my wife’s life an absolute misery," the BBC reported. Media intrusion — particularly from the British tabloids — has long been a target of Harry, who now lives in California with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their two children. * Prince Harry wins civil suit against Britain's Mirror tabloid * Prince Harry told his story in his own words. But what happens now? As Harry keeps pursuing these cases — this is the third — it does appear to be wearing on him, said Vovk. "The composure and the … stiff upper lip that is the hallmark of the Royal Family is starting to fade." The current case alleging unlawful means of gathering information by Associated Newspapers Limited involves celebrity claimants including singer Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley. It is expected to last into March. Image | 2256667144 Caption: Catherine, Princess of Wales aims a curling stone at a rink in Stirling, Scotland, on Tuesday. She and Prince William, second from right, were meeting with Great Britain's Olympic and and Paralympic curling teams ahead of the Winter Games next month in Italy. (Russell Cheyne/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Business as usual — and no visit with Harry As Prince Harry was in London for his court appearance, other members of the Royal Family were getting about with royal business as usual. While Harry had a short visit with his father, King Charles, in London back in September — their first meeting in nearly two years — no such get-together was on the books this time around. "This is a serious court case. The judge sits in one of His Majesty's courts," said Rowbotham. "No way, without causing a constitutional crisis, could Charles go anywhere near him. Nor the Queen, nor the Prince of Wales, nor the Princess of Wales. They could not meet him." On Tuesday, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were in Scotland, with engagements focusing on Scottish heritage traditions, including curling and weaving. "There's a clear effort to be strengthening the monarchy’s Scottish ties and to be promoting unity and co-operation at a time when those principles around the world seem to be directly under threat," said Vovk. William and Catherine also visited a community-run pub in a former mining village. While they were there, William praised the role pubs can play in their communities. Image | 2256691734 Caption: Prince William, second from right, visits The Gothenburg, known locally as The Goth, a community-run pub in the former mining village of Fallin, Stirlingshire, on Tuesday. (Russell Cheyne/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab "I want to help pubs," he said, according to a report in the Daily Mail. "This is the best place to come and get to know each other." William’s comments reflected a theme common in his royal work. "He didn't just talk about getting a pint," said Vovk. "He talked about … the cultural function pubs serve to make social connections, to bring people together in a way that you don't get through the internet, through television," said Vovk. "It really reinforces the emphasis that the [William and Catherine] place on making genuine person-to-person connections." Engagements this week by King Charles and Queen Camilla featured diplomacy — he met with the president of Indonesia — and long-standing philanthropic interests — she visited a charity that supports people with cancer. Image | 2257136468 Caption: Queen Camilla, left, speaks with Caitlin Warrington while visiting people living with cancer at the Maggie's Cheltenham centre on Wednesday. (Jacob King/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Camilla offered words of praise for the founder of the charity, Maggie Keswick Jencks, saying she was "convinced that people living with cancer crave a beautiful, comforting environment as they face the unknown; a place where they needn’t pretend to be fine; where they can receive expert support, sympathy and a cup of tea — and where laughter can come as naturally as tears, because sometimes that’s what’s wanted." Image | 2235470983 Caption: King Charles, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle on Sept. 18, 2025. (Aaron Chown/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Trump, King Charles and a U.S. visit to be confirmed When U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the U.K. — among other European countries — with further tariffs over their support for Greenland as an autonomous Danish territory, it set off all manner of speculation about the fate of an unconfirmed but widely expected state visit by King Charles to the U.S. this year. "Trump gives King a Greenland-sized headache," read the headline in The Telegraph earlier this week, after the U.S. president turned his attention to talking up his desire to acquire Greenland. The tariff threat has faded, with Trump now saying he has a "framework of a future deal" on Greenland. That "actually does change the game quite a bit in terms of a royal visit," Vovk said via email Thursday. "If this ‘framework’ — for which we have essentially no details at present — does in fact pan out and create or renew diplomatic and military co-operation between the U.K./Europe and the United States, a royal visit could well be a possibility." Assuming the framework goes through negotiations and is ratified, having Charles and Camilla visit the U.S. could be an effective tool for promoting British-American co-operation, Vovk said. WATCH | Trump makes a second state visit to the U.K.: Media Video | The National : Caption: U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by King Charles and Queen Camilla outside Windsor Castle, but protests in the U.K. continued as many object to the state visit. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. "It depends greatly on the positions taken by the U.K. government and how any agreement with the U.S. would be received by the British people, but a royal visit could indeed be back on the table a year or two down the road." Trump visited the U.K. in September. No state visit by Charles to the U.S. this year has been announced, although it has been widely expected as part of American celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. * How a 'made for television' state visit gave Trump what he wanted — and acted like a 'shield' for the U.K. * Trump's U.K. visit looked like it would be dominated by trade. Immigration protests suggest otherwise As is the case with any state visit, this one would be at the direction of the U.K. government — not at the initiative of the King. Rowbotham expects the visit will ultimately go ahead. "The fact that the dates haven't been confirmed is very clearly an amount of political manoeuvring by the government, the British government, not the American government." Royally quotable "We are nature ourselves — we are a part of it, not apart from it." — King Charles, in Finding Harmony: A King's Vision, a new documentary from Prime Video and The King's Foundation that arrives on Feb. 6. Royal reads Prince Harry, who was deployed twice to Afghanistan as a member of the British Armed Forces, has called for the sacrifices of NATO troops to be "spoken about truthfully and with respect," after Trump claimed allies of the U.S. stayed "a little back" from the front lines during the war in Afghanistan. [BBC] Image | 1227746491 Caption: Prince Harry, second from left, sits with a group of Gurkha soldiers at an observation post in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan in January 2008. (John Stillwell/AFP/Getty Images) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Prince William will conduct his first official visit to Saudi Arabia in February at the request of the U.K. government. [The Independent] William has been barred from using his e-scooter since moving to his new home. But he did get to try out a lightweight mobility scooter during a visit to a pioneering robotics facility. [The Sun, BBC] Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be offered a temporary home at King Charles’s Sandringham estate while preparations are made for his more permanent home on the estate northeast of London, it is understood. [Evening Standard] Could the nieces of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, help heal the rift between their cousins Princes William and Harry? [The Independent] Image | 2256967415 Caption: Prince William rides on a lightweight mobility scooter as he visits the Bristol Robotics Laboratory on Thursday in Bristol, England. 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