Great Granny’s turn!
Queen pops in to see baby Charlotte for 30 minutes... after Carole drops by for SIX hours
PRINCESS Charlotte’s greatgrandmother and namesake the Queen finally got to meet the four- day- old yesterday, as her birth certificate was released.
The monarch was driven to Kensington Palace from her official London residence to visit the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s daughter.
Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, as she was publicly named on Monday, is the Queen’s fifth great-grandchild – of which four are girls – and fourth in line to the throne.
The 89-year-old sovereign, in a periwinkle blue twinset and pearls, stayed barely half an hour, arriving at 2.20pm and leaving just after 2.45pm, but it was enough to congratulate her grandson and his wife on their new baby before she returned to Buckingham Palace.
She was not accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, who was yesterday driving down from Norfolk. It is understood he was hoping to see Charlotte before an evening engagement.
In contrast, doting grandmother Carole Middleton, Kate’s mother, stayed for almost six hours the day after Charlotte was brought home from hospital.
Prince Charles visited for an hour and a half the same day – and last night returned to enjoy another cuddle with his long-awaited granddaughter. He had always wanted a daughter and twice mentioned publicly his hope that William and Kate’s second child would be a girl.
During the Queen’s visit, Kensington Palace released the princess’s birth certificate. Alison Cathcart, registrar f or Westminster City Council, travelled to Apartment 1A to complete the formalities.
Although most new parents have to go to their nearest council office to record a birth, a palace spokesman said: ‘Registrars have traditionally visited the royal residence to register royal births.’
Charlotte’s birth was registered by William who lists his occupation as ‘Prince of the United Kingdom’. His wife is referred to as ‘Princess of the United Kingdom’.
A spokesman f or the couple explained: ‘On marriage, Prince William retained the title of Prince William of Wales and as the wife of a royal prince, the Duchess is entitled to use the name of her husband and therefore can be called Princess William of Wales.’
They added: ‘She is most definitely not the Princess Catherine, as some people have suggested.’
The dukedom William was given on his marriage to Kate is theoretically a more senior title than ‘Prince’, but the spokesman said:
‘Start a new life’
‘It is traditional for members of the Royal Family to use Prince/Princess on the birth certificate and Prince/ Princess is a rank with an underpinning status … even though he holds the title of Duke of Cambridge, his role is as Prince of the UK.’
The birth register entry was filled in by Miss Cathcart, deputy registrar, and by William. Miss Cathcart performed the same service after Prince George’s birth and has presided over several celebrity marriages including those of Sylvester Stallone and Joan Collins.
She said yesterday: ‘It was an honour to register the birth of Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Westminster City Council has a long history of registering royal births, including Prince George, and it’s a pleasure to formally welcome the latest addition to the family.’
Charlotte’s birth document will be kept with thousands of others at the Westminster Registration Office.
The family are expected to leave London to start a new life at Anmer Hall, the Norfolk mansion given to them by the Queen. It is a short drive from her Sandringham home. William is due to start as an air ambulance pilot on June 1. Sebastian Shakespeare –
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