The Royal Family celebrated Princess Charlotte’s 10th birthday today by revealing a sweet portrait of her smiling in the Lake District.

Charlotte’s mother the Princess of Wales took the photo on her iPhone earlier this year while the family were away in Cumbria.

The picture was posted on the @KensingtonRoyal social media account just before 11.30am today with the caption: ‘Happy 10th Birthday Princess Charlotte!’

Charlotte, who is third in the line of succession to the throne, was pictured wearing a mountain backpack with a camouflage-style coat and blue trousers.

It marks a return to the children’s portraits being taken by Kate, a keen amateur photographer who regularly takes images of her children to mark official occasions.

Last week Kate and William shared photos for Prince Louis’s birthday taken in Norfolk by one of the family’s preferred photographers, Josh Shinner. 

For Charlotte’s birthday last year, the Waleses released an image also taken by Kate which saw her daughter displaying her cheeky grin and flowing blonde hair. 

The year prior, the couple had released two images of a beaming Charlotte for her eighth birthday. In one, she gave her mother a gap-toothed grin to mark the occasion.

The Princess of Wales took the photo of her daughter Princess Charlotte, now 10, in Cumbria

In another, she was pictured in a blue-and-white striped jumper from Boden as she snuggled up with the family’s beloved black cocker spaniel Orla. 

The young Princess, who shares a special link to the children’s’ ‘Gan-Gan’ as she shares a name with the late monarch, was christened Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, after the Queen and their grandmother, in July 2015. 

And royal experts have offered the public a sneak peek inside the life of the Royal Family’s ‘secret weapon’ as she today celebrates her 10th birthday.

Insiders revealed how Charlotte, the second child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is the ‘boss of the family’ and isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

With her cheeky yet sassy personality, the young princess has often been seen keeping her brothers in line, playfully cringing at her parents’ public displays of affection, and stylishly coordinating outfits with her most fashionable relatives. 

Princess Charlotte last year celebrated her ninth birthday with a special image taken by her mother, the Princess of Wales 

For their daughter’s birthday the year prior, the couple released two images of a beaming Charlotte. In one, she gave her mother a gap-toothed grin to mark the occasion 

In another, she was pictured in a blue-and-white striped jumper from Boden as she snuggled up with the family’s beloved black cocker spaniel Orla 

Royal historian Marlene Koenig told US Weekly ‘Charlotte rules the roost’ at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, adding ‘[Kate] describes Charlotte as ‘independent and the one in charge.”

It comes after last year her father William revealed how the straight-talking youngster made him shave off his beard when she disapproved.

According to the prince, his daughter burst into ‘floods of tears’ after seeing his new look for the first time.

And, in June 2024, Charlotte appeared to help her mother, the Princess of Wales, keep her younger brother in check during Trooping the Colour.

Louis, seven, appeared bored during the long, formal event and was seen scrunching his face, playing with curtains and yawning. 

But the youngster perked up when the bagpipes started playing during the Horse Guard Parade, shaking his hips in time to the music from the balcony of the Major General’s Office.

According to lip reader Nicola Hickling, the Princess, now 10, scolded her dancing brother, and said: ‘You have to stop doing that. Watch the parade’, to which he bluntly replied: ‘I won’t’. 

However, beneath the grandeur and formalities Charlotte and her siblings, Prince George, 11, and Louis, seven, are just like other children.

The princess turns one (pictured, left), and the princess turns two, with this sweet photo shared to mark her big day

Previously, Princess Charlotte has shared her birthday pictures with her younger brother Louis (pictured, left), returning to solo portraits the next year when she turned four (pictured, right)

Charlotte pictured when she was five (pictured, left) and six (pictured, right) for her birthday portraits

Whether it’s eating pizza, blowing raspberries or getting animated over the football, the trio are as ‘normal’ as their gilded circumstances will allow.

Earlier this year, Kate made a rare comment about her daughter as she spoke with a woman at a St Patrick’s Day parade in March.

Kate’s trip to the Wellington Barracks marked her return to the event in her capacity as Colonel of the Irish Guards after she missed the 2024 parade while undergoing cancer treatment.

When the royal arrived, she was greeted by Major General Sir Chris Ghika and Lt Col Ben Irwin-Clark, alongside their partners.

Carice, who is Ben’s wife, chatted to the mother-of-three at the event and revealed that her daughter and Charlotte often go head-to-head in school matches together. 

She told the Princess: ‘We so often see you at matches because our girls are always playing each other, they are Farleigh and Lambrook, so I think there’s stiff competition.’

Kate replied: ‘Of course, are they in the same year?’ and Carice replied: ‘Yes, Year Five.’ 

The future Queen then said: ‘I was just saying, they’re doing so much, sporting events.’

‘Now it’s getting a bit warmer it’s a bit nicer for a spectator,’ Carice said, which made Kate laugh. 

William has also previously told of his daughter’s passion for football, telling the Lionesses: ‘Charlotte wants me to tell you she’s really good in goal… a budding star for the future!’

The Waleses have also spoken about Charlotte’s passion for dance, with Kate revealing that she loves ‘ballet and tap’ during an outing in 2023.