Princess Charlotte giving a stranger a hug during the royal family's visit to church in England on Christmas morning went viral on TikTok as fans celebrated her birthday.
The young royal—who turned 9 years old today—was with her mother, Princess Kate, when a royal watcher beckoned her over with outstretched arms. Charlotte, then 4 years old, paused briefly before stretching out her arms and embracing the woman in December 2019.
The clip went newly viral on TikTok in the days leading up to Charlotte's birthday after it was posted with the message: "She is the cutest girl."
An on-screen caption read: "A lady asks Princess Charlotte if she can have a hug from her… her reaction…"
One reply read, "beautiful Princess Catherine and princess Charlotte," while another added: "Beautiful princess Charlotte made this Lady day."
A third read: "I'm gonna memories this gesture made by princess Charlotte and put it on my mind on the section 'never forget area'."
One reply added it was important that "she also may say no if she doesn't want to give a hug," while the original poster wrote: "I think she really wanted to make this hug and her mother didn't say anything about that."
@royalslottie Ib: me so tag pls! || she is the cutest girl || 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡 💌 (thanks for 300 followers ) / 𝖳 𝖠 𝖦 𝖲 : #britishroyalfamily #thewalesfamily #princesscharlotte #princessofwales #princesscharlotteedit #princesscharlotteofwales #royal #edit #foryoupage #fyp #fypシ゚ #foryou #fypシ゚viral #xyzbca #parati #cute #plsdontflop #pourto #dontletthisflop #plsdontflop #uk #capcut #unflopme #tiktok
♬ son original - 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐞 ★
Traditionally, the royal family walk to church in Sandringham, their estate in the county of Norfolk in the east of England, on Christmas morning and meet the public on the way.
In the clip, Charlotte is next to Princess Kate and can be seen holding an inflatable flamingo she was given by a well-wisher.
She turned 9 on May 2, a little more than a week after her younger brother, Prince Louis, turned 6 years old.
In past years, Kate and Prince William have released an image of their children the evening before each birthday through British news agency the Press Association.
However, the Prince and Princess of Wales appear to have switched to a new system following a dispute between international picture agencies and London's Kensington Palace over Kate photo-editing a Mother's Day picture.
That meant the new image of Prince Louis did not emerge until after midday U.K. time, leaving fans and news outlets on tenterhooks.
Again, the palace had not released a new image of Charlotte before her birthday, laying the ground for a waiting game among fans of the Wales family on Wednesday morning.
Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston 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.
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Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
