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Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her daughter, Princess Charlotte, have become the focus of a new viral video as fans have highlighted the pair's matching movements, including curtsies, in resurfaced TikTok footage.
Charlotte celebrated her 8th birthday on May 2. She has seen her number of public appearances increase slowly over the past 12 months as her parents took on more senior roles within the monarchy following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
As well as attending the late monarch's state funeral, Charlotte attended her grandfather King Charles III's London coronation in May. She also made her first appearance at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, England, in July, watching from the royal box alongside older brother Prince George.
Uploaded to TikTok by user svyl2 on August 4, a new compilation video has highlighted clips of the princess and her mother over the past eight years. In the footage, the pair make matching movements, which suggests the princess has looked to her mother as an example when out and about in public.
In the opening of the video, footage captured of the pair during the coronation concert at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, in May is shown, followed by two clips filmed on Christmas Day in 2019 during the annual royal family visit to church on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.
In one of the clips, Kate is shown offering a deep, respectful curtsy as Queen Elizabeth II leaves the service in her car. This is followed by close-up footage of the young Charlotte copying her mother's gesture.
Charlotte has offered several royal curtsies during the past year, with the little princess' gesture to her great-grandmother's coffin at Westminster Abbey, London, in September 2022 being widely shared.
Royal curtsies have become the subject of increased public fascination since last December. Meghan Markle faced criticism after she described her thoughts of being asked to curtsy to Queen Elizabeth when she first met her as a "joke."
The duchess spoke about her first curtsy in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, and told viewers how she offered the monarch a deep medieval-style-times bow, with a dramatic reenactment. This earned her criticism from social-media users and critics accusing her of disrespecting the queen and British customs.
Curtsying is a traditional gesture of respect, offered to the monarch within royal circles, though there is no obligation for members of the public to do so.
Charlotte, like her mother, Kate, has publicly curtsied to Queen Elizabeth as well as King Charles III, with recent examples being performed at the time of the coronation.
Charlotte attended the historic ceremony in May with her parents and younger brother, Prince Louis. She was dressed in a matching outfit to her mother, made by the design team at Alexander McQueen.
The white dress with silver embellished cape featured matching embroidery representing the floral emblems of the nations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The viral video has received over 126,000 views on TikTok so far, and more than 10,400 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised the princesses, with one user writing: "Love them both."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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