A video comparing Buckingham Palace balcony appearances made by a young Princess Charlotte and a young Princess Anne has gone viral after being uploaded to social media platform TikTok.
The video, which was uploaded by user "rainhaelizatbeh," has gained more than half a million views on the video sharing platform and received more than 50,000 likes.
Princess Charlotte, 7, the daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, has been the focus of increased media attention over the past 10 months. She has been carefully introduced at a number of public appearances, including those associated with the queen's Platinum Jubilee in June, the memorial service for Prince Philip in March and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
The clips in the viral video show Charlotte, aged 3, standing on the Buckingham Palace balcony with members of the extended royal family during the Trooping the Colour celebrations in June 2018.
The annual event marks the sovereign's birthday and consists of a military parade and procession at London's Horse Guards Parade, followed by a flyby by the Royal Air Force along the Mall and over Buckingham Palace.
In the clip, Charlotte is seen slipping from a small ledge and being steadied by her mother, then the Duchess of Cambridge and now the Princess of Wales.
This is contrasted with a clip taken from the 1953 coronation celebrations for Queen Elizabeth. It shows Princess Anne also slipping on the balcony before she is caught by Prince Philip, her father.
The TikTok video is captioned "parallels," highlighting the similar situation involving Charlotte and her great-aunt.
Anne is the only daughter of Elizabeth and Philip and is known by an alternative title, Princess Royal. This special title is given by the monarch to the eldest daughter. There can only be one Princess Royal at any one time, meaning that Anne was given the title after the death of her aunt, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood, the daughter of King George V and Queen Mary.
When Prince William becomes king, Charlotte will be eligible to take on the title of Princess Royal after the death of Anne. Whether this will be the case remains to be seen, as the traditions of the royal family have adapted to become more in line with modern times.
One user commented under the TikTok video, writing: "princesses royal things😂"
Another observed that both princesses were standing beside "beside king charles" in their clips.
Anne was 2 at the time of her mother's coronation in 1953. While her older brother Prince Charles, now King Charles III, attended the ceremony in Westminster Abbey, she was considered too young to be there. However, the princess did make the balcony appearance alongside her family members, where the slipping mishap took place.
Members of the royal family have used the Buckingham Palace balcony for over a century, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek.
"It was first used in the 1850s by Queen Victoria. Royal appearances on the balcony of Buckingham Palace will continue to be important and be one of the ways the royal family shows itself to the world," Fitzwilliams said.
He continued: "As at the Diamond Jubilee and at the Platinum Jubilee, a message can be sent depending on who appears. It is also a wonderful tradition after Trooping the Colour which will continue in a magnificent and refurbished Buckingham Palace."
While this year has been one of increased public appearances for Princess Charlotte, it has also come with a name change.
When the queen died at the age of 96 on September 8, Prince William automatically became the Duke of Cornwall, a title that is held only by the eldest son and heir to the throne.
With this change, Charlotte and her siblings, Prince George, 9, and Prince Louis, 4, were no longer referred to as "of Cambridge" but "of Cornwall and Cambridge." As a result, she became Princess Charlotte of Cornwall and Cambridge.
This was to change just one day later, when King Charles III made William the Prince of Wales.
As this title supersedes all others, the Cornwall and Cambridge children then took the Wales name. So it is now Princess Charlotte of Wales.
As well as attending high-profile jubilee and memorial events, Charlotte recorded her first official video message of support, alongside her father, for England women's soccer team ahead of the UEFA Women's Euros finals in July. She also attended her first solo engagement with her parents during the Commonwealth Games the same month.
Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
