How down-to-earth Carole Middleton provides the ‘Diana touch’ for Princess Charlotte – as the young royal celebrates her 11th birthday today

As Princess Charlotte celebrates her 11th birthday today, the young royal will certainly be showered with love by her adoring grandmother, Carole Middleton.

While the absence of Princess Diana‘s role in Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte’s lives will certainly never waver, it is down-to-earth Carole who provides the ‘Diana touch’ and a sense of normality to their unique childhoods.

According to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, Carole, 71, plays a ‘very special role’ in Charlotte’s life and ‘goes to considerable lengths to make life as normal as possible’.

He told The Daily Mail: ‘Carole has been constant and has a calming influence. She has been indispensable in helping with meals, with the school run and also having fun with the grandchildren.

‘This was “the Diana touch”. Diana had wanted her sons to experience a cinema, enjoy a McDonalds, a trip to a theme park or informal dinners. Diana could offer empathy with a magical touch, as the world knows.’

Carole has often been spotted on the school run, and previously reported to have taken Britain’s future King, young Prince George, shopping while she picked out carpets.

‘I had popped in to pick up some wallpaper samples and Prince George had gone in with his granny, Carole Middleton,’ Sally Pellow, 64, told HELLO! at the time. ‘He was beautifully dressed and sitting at a desk eating bits of orange.’

The Princess of Wales has always shared a close bond with her mother. But now, Carole is hopeful she can pass on the same wisdom and ‘special ambitions’ to her eldest granddaughter, Charlotte, by helping to keep her feet firmly on the ground.

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While the absence of Princess Diana’s role in Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte’s lives will never waver, it is down-to-earth Carole who seeks to provide the ‘Diana touch’ by adding a sense of normality to their childhoods

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Carole has always shared a particularly close bond with the Princess of Wales, and how seeks to pass on the same wisdom to her eldest granddaughter, Charlotte, by helping to keep her feet firmly on the ground

Indeed, Carole once described herself as a ‘very hands on’ grandmother who liked to ‘muck around dancing’ with all seven of her grandchildren and play a loving role in raising Britain’s youngest royals.

‘I want to run down the hills, climb the trees and go through the tunnel at the playground. As long as I am able to, that’s what I’ll be doing. I cook with them, I muck around dancing, we go on bike rides,’ she told Good Housekeeping in 2021.

In a rather touching tribute, Carole and Charlotte even share the same middle name – Elizabeth.

Carole and Charlotte’s affectionate bond was certainly showcased like no other when the mischievous princess, then four, was captured sticking her tongue out at reporters at the King’s Cup Regatta in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in August 2019.

When Kate encouraged the young princess, holding Carol’s hand, to give the sea of photographers a wave, Charlotte instead made the rather cheeky expression at the cameras.

The hilarious moment certainly sent Carole into hysterics as she looked on in surprise at Charlotte’s rare rebellious moment before she slowly guided her away from the eyes of the photographers.

For a brief moment, the Princess of Wales looked to cautiously tell her coy daughter off, before breaking character and turning back to the camera and also bursting into laughter, soon prompting others behind the camera to follow suit.

The adorable interaction was quickly noted by eagle-eyed royal onlookers, who soon took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on Carole seeming ‘completely surprised and taken aback’ by her granddaughter’s adorable mischief.

‘It’s such a sweet reminder that it’s just kids being kids,’ noted one royal fan.

Another jokingly remarked: ‘Princess Charlotte reminded us that even royal blood comes with a touch of cheeky charm. Long live the Queen of sass!’

Carole – also grandmother to Pippa Middleton‘s two children and James Middleton’s daughter – has previously revealed how she takes a ‘very hands on’ approach towards being a grandparent.

Writing in his biography, William And Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, published last month, royal expert Russell Myers said the Middletons’ influence and ‘constant presence’ has been ‘crucial’ in shaping William and Kate’s refreshingly down-to-earth take on raising the young royals.

‘William appreciated their involvement beyond measure,’ he added, ‘enjoying their company and the normalcy of the environment, whatever the circumstance.’

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Carole and and Charlotte’s affectionate bond was certainly showcased like no other when the mischievous princess, then four, was captured sticking her tongue out at reporters at the King’s Cup Regatta in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in August 2019

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Royal commentators Jennie Bond and Tom Quinn have previously claimed that it will be Carole and her beloved husband Michael, 76, who will have a bigger influence on George, Charlotte and Louis than the Royal Family

Royal commentators Jennie Bond and Tom Quinn have previously claimed that it will be Carole and her beloved husband Michael, 76, who will have a bigger influence on George, Charlotte and Louis than the Royal Family.

In Channel 5‘s When the Middletons Met the Monarchy, Mr Quinn said: ‘I suspect everyone thinks that in terms of the children, the royal family will inevitable have the most influence, but that is entirely wrong.

‘It will be the Middletons that have the influence, because the royal family is too formal, it’s too stuck in its ways.’

Meanwhile, Ms Bond added: ‘Kate will always turn to Carole for help, advice guidance, and just get together and romping around with the kids – possibly before she would get together with Camilla and Charles.’

Michael and Carole were some of the first people to meet young Princess Charlotte when she was born on May 2, 2015 at London’s St Mary’s Hospital.

And when Kate and William relocated to Windsor in 2022, it only strengthened the pre-existing bond shared between Carole and her grandchildren.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales is said to have quickly ‘adopted’ the Middleton family soon after he started dating Kate in the early 2000s – and Carole is now an indispensable part of the Wales’ close-knit family unit.

She enjoys making making the Prince of Wales his favourite snack of cheese on toast and stocks up on the sea salt chocolates that he likes.

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Mr Fitzwillaims added: ‘William had lost his mother when so young and had been much affected by the public battles between his parents. Carole became a pivotal maternal figure whom he could trust implicitly.

‘What was to come was, as William described it, a “brutal” period as Catherine was diagnosed with cancer after an abdominal operation. Carole’s help with handling matters during this period is beyond evaluation.’

When Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in early 2024, Carole instantly stepped in to care for her three young children.

Known to family friends as ‘Ma Middleton’, she was described by close sources at the time as being ‘indispensable’, while others praised her for playing a ‘crucial’ role in caring for Princes George and Louis, alongside Princess Charlotte.

The doting grandmother was even reportedly spotted driving Kate on the school run, while she stayed with the Waleses family for the Easter family as the world learned of the princess’s diagnosis for the first time via a video announcement.

In December 2024, at Kate’s annual ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service, then six-year-old Prince Louis clutched a poignant little label for the ‘kindness’ tree which left little doubt of the young royal children’s unwavering love for their grandmother.

The small label read, in wobbly handwriting: ‘Thank you Granny and Grandpa because they have played games with me.’