Princess Charlotte's subtle gestures during public royal events often keep her older brother Prince George "in line", according to body language expert Judi James. The future monarch turns 13 years old today and shares a close bond with his siblings Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight.
Expert Insights on Royal Siblings
James spoke in a Channel 5 documentary called Prince George at 13: The Next Generation, where royal author Katie Nicholl also gave insight. Katie said: "I think he [George] rather depends on Charlotte and certainly did in the early days when it came to their public engagements and walkabouts when George could seem, I think compared to his sister, quite shy."
Royal expert Ingrid Sward revealed Charlotte "tells him what to do" before Katie added: "I think we very much saw that when they did their first Trooping The Colour and you had all three children in that carriage and it was very much Charlotte keeping Louis in check, making sure George was ok."
Charlotte's Role as 'Keeper of the Choreography'
Body language expert Judi James gave her own take on the dynamic. She said: "We do see Charlotte keeping an eye on both of her brothers. What I found really fascinating isn't so much that she is doing that, but for me, it is the way that when she does nudge them and tap them, they both fall into line. Children of that age, normally if a younger sibling says put your arms down, [they'll reply] 'who do you think you are?' But they absolutely take it and I think that's going to be very important when it comes to the dynamic because they will see that as a form of support."
She added: "I think that in terms of the relationship it probably would compare a little bit to Anne and Charles where Anne was always the more confident sibling and I think Charlotte to a certain extent she seems to absolutely get protocol. She knows what needs to be done. I don't think either of them [George or Louis] have got hugely strong attention spams, they will be watching the planes or talking about something. So I think that helps them relax a little bit because they know that if they are doing anything wrong, they have got their sister there, who is usually in the middle of them. So in a way, I think it's probably she goes out being the keeper of the choreography so they don't have to, but at the same time, they know that if they do anything wrong, she will be there to correct them."
As of September, George will no longer attend the same preparatory school in Berkshire as his siblings, and will follow in his father's footsteps by going to Eton. His dad Prince William is reportedly "thrilled" that his eldest son will attend Eton for his secondary school education. Prince George at 13: The Next Generation will air on Channel 5 on Saturday (July 25) at 9pm.
