Princess Charlotte has developed a special bond with another member of the Royal Family, despite a 27-year age gap.
Charlotte is very close with her siblings Prince Louis and Prince George, as well as her parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
But she has also nurtured an unlikely friendship with Princess Beatrice, 35, who is her father’s cousin.
According to body language expert Judi James, the duo’s close bond has been highlighted at numerous royal events, including Princess Eugenie’s own wedding in 2018.
As we previously reported, when Eugenie tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank, Charlotte looked up at her fondly in a touching moment that was caught on camera.
Ms James told Express.co.uk: “The pose where little Princess Charlotte gazed up at her ‘auntie Beatrice’ at Eugenie’s wedding showed Beatrice could well be Charlotte’s favourite royal friend.”
She added that the young royal even showed her love for Beatrice from afar during a memorial service for Prince Philip.
She explained: “There was an even more touching moment between the two at Philip’s memorial service.
“Beatrice was overcome by emotion during the service, weeping loudly and even hiding her entire face behind her hymn sheet at one point.
“It was little Charlotte who looked back from the front row with an expression of concern, prompting Beatrice to offer a small smile and nod of thanks to reassure Charlotte she was okay.”
The young royal also shares “friendship signals” with her mother, the Princess of Wales, according to Ms James.
Ms James said: “As Charlotte gets older there are some clear signs of not just mother-daughter bonding with [Princess] Kate but also friendship signals, too.”
She continued: “It’s not unusual for a mother and her daughter to describe themselves as friends or even enjoy being ‘best friends’.
“But where Kate and Charlotte are concerned that specific bond might be more necessary than it is for others as being a top-tier royal can be an isolating experience and we all saw how much the late Queen always cherished the unique equality of her mother-daughter bond with Princess Anne.”
The little princess has also made firm friends with another female royal – Lady Louise Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s only daughter.
According to Ms James, 19-year-old Lady Louise will share a similar future to Charlotte despite being more distant in the line for the throne.
She explained that the teenager is an ideal role model for Princess Charlotte, thanks to some “attractive qualities” that Louise has inherited from her family.
Ms James said: “Louise was launched into a more public role much later in life than Charlotte, who has been front-line from birth, but she seems to have adopted her mother Sophie’s approach of calm confidence and low drama, which must look attractive to Charlotte.”
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.