Between the launch of Meghan Markle’s new brand, As Ever, and King Charles’s return to work after his recent hospitalization, it feels a bit like Mother’s Day in the U.K.—celebrated this past Sunday, March 30—came and went. But as we reviewed the pics (and videos) shared by the royals to mark the day, we were struck by something charming in a throwback photo posted to Instagram by the king: A youthful Princess Anne’s style overlap with Princess Charlotte.
King Charles Posted This Super Sweet Pic with His Mom Queen Elizabeth & I Noticed Something Striking About Princess Anne
Cue the nod to Princess Charlotte
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Published Apr 5, 2025
•1:00pm
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
In the photo, snapped in 1956, of the monarch to mark the occasion on Sunday, then-Prince Charles (who would have been eight years old at the time) is pictured seated next to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II and his sister Princess Anne to watch the Royal Windsor Horse Show—a favorite of her Majesty. While it’s hard to miss the queen’s smart skirt suit and Charles’s knee-high socks, my eyes were drawn to something entirely different: A young Princess Anne (at the time, she would have been five) wearing a classic and double-breasted knee-length coat that rings very similar to the ones beloved and worn frequently over the years by Princess Charlotte.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
A royal style staple? For sure. But while we’ve noticed similarities between Prince William and Kate Middleton’s only daughter and Queen Elizabeth before, we’ve never caught the resemblance between Charlotte and Princess Anne. (Yes, it’s the sartorial kind, but it still speaks volumes about royal tradition over the years.)
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Of course, Anne isn’t the only one causing us to see double with this pic. Prince Charles’s knee-high socks and shorts are a royal go-to we’ve seen worn by Prince William, Prince Harry, even Prince George and Prince Louis over the years.
But in the case of Anne and Charlotte, it’s extra sweet to see how history—of the fashion variety—repeats.
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