Princess Charlotte deliberately sets herself apart from Princess Kate

Princess Charlotte had to bend the royal rules slightly in order to set herself apart from her mother, Princess Kate.

On Sunday, July 27, the 11-year-old daughter of the Prince and Princess of Wales issued her first public message without her brothers, Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, 7. The message, posted on her parents’ official social media accounts run by Kensington Palace, came after she attended the dramatic UEFA Women’s Euro Final in Switzerland with her father, Prince William.

Following England’s win, the pair posted a joint message that read: "What a game! Lionesses, you are the champions of Europe and we couldn’t be prouder of the whole team. Enjoy this moment England.”

They signed the message off with “W & Charlotte." William’s use of his initial is standard practice, while Charlotte’s use of her full name is not.

But there’s a simple reason behind this. Since Charlotte’s mother is named Catherine “Kate” Middleton, signing off as “C” could confuse the message with one from William and Kate, not William and Charlotte. To avoid mix-ups, Charlotte used her full name.

Charlotte has used her initials in instances where the post is clearly written from the kids’ perspective. The Wales children’s Father’s Day message in June read, "We love you, Papa. Happy Father's Day," and was signed: "G, C & L,” i.e., George, Charlotte, and Louis.