To celebrate Princess Charlotte's ninth birthday on Thursday, 2 May, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a beautiful new picture of their daughter which was taken by her mum.
The photograph shows the little Princess posing outdoors in a navy blue jumper, maroon cardigan and denim skirt. Alongside the image which was shared on the couple's social media, a caption read: "Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte! Thank you for all of the kind messages today."
While fans rushed to show their love for the birthday girl and point out how much she has grown since she was last seen in public on Christmas Day, there was something else they were quick to notice.
![charlotte](https://i2-prod.ok.co.uk/incoming/article32718775.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/3_GMkApBkXkAETSDF.jpg)
While Prince Louis' looks are frequently compared to his mother and other members of the Middleton family, Princess Charlotte is often said to be the spitting image of her father, Prince William.
Taking to social media, one fan wrote: "She’s growing up so fast and isn’t she the image of her father. Happy birthday lil one, another lovely photograph by The Princess of Wales." A second continued: "Oh my goodness, how beautifully she has grown! She has her daddy’s eyes and her mum’s beautiful smile! Happiest birthday sweet Princess Charlotte."
This is not the first time we have been left stunned at the little princess' likeness to her dad - with Prince William even doing a double take during an engagement back in 2020.
![william charlotte](https://i2-prod.ok.co.uk/incoming/article32265442.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Untitled-design-5.png)
During a visit to Bradford four years ago, the Prince and Princess of Wales examined a cake which was designed by Siami Ali, when Prince William noticed something “incredible”.
William pointed to a cute photo of himself dressed in a red jumpsuit from 1992 and was stunned at his resemblance to Princess Charlotte. The likeness is so strong that it even had William doing a double take, he quipped to Kate: "Is that me? Doesn't it look like Charlotte?"
The Princess of Wales came for a closer look and agreed saying: "It looks so much like Charlotte." William then repeated his previous statement, adding: "Is that me? That looks just like Charlotte. That's incredible, I haven't seen that before. Very alike in similarity."
![william](https://i2-prod.ok.co.uk/incoming/article32461050.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Trooping-The-Colour-2023.jpg)
The Prince of Wales often provides updates on his young children and recently gave an insight on his daughter's sense of humour.
During his recent engagement in the West Midlands to St Michael's Church of England High School in Sandwell, Prince William joked about his daughter’s sense of humour and shared her new favourite knock knock joke about an 'Interrupting Cow', saying, 'That's one I hear a lot at home at the moment!” As the youngsters around the table asked, 'Interrupting Cow who?' the royal let out an abrupt “moo”.
He has also previously opened up about his daughter's love of football during a visit to see England's Lionesses at their training ground.
William - who is President of the FA - told the players: “Charlotte wants me to tell you she's really good in goal. A budding star for the future!”
He went on: “She said, ‘Please can you tell them that’, and I said ‘Okay I'll tell them’.”