Princess Poppet’s first day at nursery
POSING for her proud mummy’s camera, there wasn’t a hint of nerves about Princess Charlotte as she set off for her first day at nursery yesterday.
Charlotte, who turns three on May 2, even managed a cheeky little smile as she stood on the steps of her parents’ apartment at Kensington Palace.
Her outfit is likely to have cost well in excess of £300, including her £120 coat from Amaia Kids.
Charlotte was also wearing a pair of £27 red Dona Carmen Mary Jane shoes, £12 chestnut ribbed tights, as well as a £4 hair bow.
Around her neck was a pink woollen scarf, part of a set with a matching Marie Chantal hat and costing £125.
And over her shoulders was a pink spotted rucksack featuring – naturally, for a member of the Royal Family – ponies, which costs £25 from British retailer Cath Kidston.
Charlotte has grown so much since she was last seen officially in public in July when she joined her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on a tour of Poland and Germany.
Six months on, not only has her hair grown, but she has also finally lost the dimpled softness of babyhood. Now she looks like such a big girl – and the image not only of her mother at the same age but also of her great-great-grandmother, the late Queen Mother.
Unlike her brother, four-year-old Prince George, who seems a slightly shyer child, Charlotte displays the spirited, coquettish confidence of the former Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, who died in 2002.
Charlotte was photographed by her mother Kate, who is due to give birth again in April, on the same sun-bleached stone steps as her sibling for his first day at ‘big school’ last year.
The duchess, who celebrates her 36th birthday today, also took the official photograph of George on his first day at nursery too. A keen amateur photographer, she has lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society.
Charlotte will attend the Willcocks Nursery School, a stone’s throw from Kensington Palace, five mornings a week – and by the look of excitement on her face, will have no problem settling in. The £20,000-a-year school has been described by society magazine Tatler as being comprised of a mixture of ‘old English families and chic foreigners’.
Charlotte was probably greeted by something familiar on her first day at nursery – her favourite toys. Willcocks makes the gesture for all new children to help them make a smooth transition from home to school.
It is likely Kate was also invited into the nursery for her first ‘stay and play’ session with Charlotte, where the parent gradually spends more time away from their child until they are happy to be apart from their mother or father for the whole day.
It will have been an important milestone for Kate, who missed George’s first day at school because of the severe morning sickness she suffered early in her pregnancy with Charlotte.
Founded in 1964, Willcocks is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and even teaches its pupils pottery, acting and basic French.
As Charlotte is now at nursery and George at school, the children will not accompany their parents when they undertake a four-day tour of Norway and Sweden this month.
Lessons in pottery, acting and French