Princess Charlotte Has Inherited One of Princess Diana's Favorite Passions
Talent runs in the family.


Princess Diana never got to meet her grandkids, but it turns out one of them shares a special hobby that the late royal once enjoyed—and it's perfect for the Christmas season.
In a video shared by Sky News on TikTok, Kate Middleton revealed that Princess Charlotte, like her late grandmother, is a big ballet fan. Princess Diana started taking private dance lessons shortly after her marriage to Prince Charles (now King Charles), and according to the Sun, 9-year-old Charlotte also partakes in "weekly private ballet lessons at a dance school in south London."
Ballet isn't the young princess's only dance of choice. Per the outlet, The Princess of Wales also recently told a young girl, "My daughter Charlotte likes dancing, she loves ballet and tap. Keep up the dancing."
Princess Kate also shared an especially sweet story about her daughter's passion for ballet while chatting to singer Paloma Faith during the annual Together at Christmas royal carol concert on Dec. 6.
The royal shared that she didn't want to tell Charlotte that dancers from the Royal Ballet were scheduled to perform during the carol service, and she enlisted Prince Louis's help in keeping the secret.
Princess Diana, seen during a 1997 performance of Swan Lake, was a longtime supporter of the ballet.
"I said Louis, can you keep a secret, because I want it to be a surprise for Charlotte, who loves her ballet," the Princess of Wales said. "And he said promise, promise I won't say anything."
Fortunately, 6-year-old Louis was able to keep the secret in, and Charlotte was able to enjoy the special holiday performance with her family at Westminster Abbey.
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As documented by Princess Diana's dance teacher, Anne Allan, in her memoir, Dancing With Diana, Louis wasn't the only one great at keeping royal secrets.
Princess Diana once shocked an audience by stepping out on stage during a charity event and performing a surprise routine to "Uptown Girl" for Prince Charles. No one except Allan and famed dancer Wayne Sleep knew about her plan, but as viewers of The Crown know, the secret performance totally backfired.
Charles only said "'Well done darling,’ and turned to talk with someone else,” Allan wrote. The dance teacher added that Diana later “admitted that she didn’t think Charles thought it appropriate" for her to dance in public. Even so, the princess continued on with her dance lessons—and something tells me Diana would love that Charlotte is continuing on with her legacy.
Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.
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