Princess Charlotte, 6, Is Telling People She's 16 Now, According to Prince William

Newly-six-year-old Princess Charlotte, like many other children, is ready to be a teen now—and wants everyone she meets to know that she's basically an adult, according to her dad Prince William.

norfolk, england editor's note news editorial use only no commercial use no merchandising, advertising, souvenirs, memorabilia or colourably similar not for use after 31 december, 2021, without prior permission from kensington palace this photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply and that you will pass these on to any organisation to whom you supply it there shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs including by way of example only any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non news editorial use the photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form all other requests for use should be directed to the press office at kensington palace in writing mandatory credit the duchess of cambridge norfolk, england in this undated handout photo issued on may 1, 2021 by kensington palace, princess charlotte poses in a photo taken by catherine, duchess of cambridge this weekend in norfolk, ahead of her sixth birthday on sunday may 2, in norfolk, united kingdom photo by duchess of cambridge via getty imagesnote to editors this handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder
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Newly-six-year-old Princess Charlotte, like many other children, is ready to be a teen now—and wants everyone she meets to know that she's basically an adult. Prince William revealed his and Kate Middleton's only daughter, who celebrated her sixth birthday on May 2, is telling everyone she's 10 years older than she is.

“She’s six, yeah,” he said during an engagement in West Midlands on Tuesday, via Daily Mail. “If you ask her, she says she's 16...Charlotte says, ‘I'm six now, I'll do what I want.’ It’s like, they grow up really fast.”

William did detail how the family celebrated Charlotte's birthday over the weekend at their Norfolk country home, Anmer Hall. It wasn't any full-fledge party amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it was a slightly bigger celebration than last year. “She did [have a lovely birthday], thank you very much, yes,” he said when asked. “Unfortunately for her obviously last year there was no birthday party because of lockdown but this year [we had] one other family, so that was it. So it wasn't a party as such but we made it as fun for her as possible.”

The family shared a photo that Kate took of Charlotte during the weekend, seen above. Their self-proclaimed “16” year old daughter wore a Rachel Riley floral dress.

Riley spoke to Elle.com about the selection and what it's been like watching Charlotte's style develop. “It was such a treat to see Princess Charlotte wearing our button front floral dress to mark her sixth birthday! She looks so happy in the picture,” the designer said.

“Princess Charlotte wore a similar button-front dress of ours when she visited the garden her mother designed at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. It's fun to see that this dress is a style which is as pretty on a four year old as it is for a six year old.”

“The dress she wore when she was four featured a delicate, ditsy print in pastel pink, blue and yellow, whereas the style she wore in her most recent picture, she chose a larger print in stronger colors. This print has bigger pink flowers on a navy background, which is in keeping with the choice of older girls who tend to migrate towards bolder fashion choices. We look forward to seeing Princess Charlotte's style develop as she continues to grow and mature and we have no doubt she will become as much of a style icon as her mother is.”

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Alyssa Bailey
News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.