Happy Birthday, Princess Charlotte!

Happy Ninth Birthday, Princess Charlotte! 

Kensington Palace released a new photo of the Princess to mark the occasion. Here is the message accompanying the photograph on social media.

The picture was taken by the Princess of Wales at Windsor—more on the setting from this Daily Mail piece. 

 The youngster appeared to pay a sweet homage to her late great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she posed alongside pale pink flowers named in her honour. 

The blooms – known as Clematis montana var. rubens cultivar – are one of the first plants named after the monarch, as reported by Gardens Illustrated.

You can see how much the Princess has changed in the last year.

Now, for a look back at the young Princess’s past year. Within days of her eighth birthday, we saw the Princess and her brothers at the coronation. Below, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in a screen grab from a video celebrating the coronation.

During the service at Westminster Abbey with her mother.

The Princess on her way to Buckingham Palace with her mother, father, and brothers.

Enjoying the flypast. 

A funny face from the Princess as she watches Prince Louis.

The Princess joined her older brother, mother, father, and many other relatives for the Coronation Concert in Windsor. 

Another view. 

The next day, we saw the Wales family participating in the Big Help Out. The family joined other volunteers renovating the 3rd Upton Scouts Hut in Slough, outside London.

The Princess tried her hand at archery.

And joined others in posing for a group photo.

The next time we saw the Princess was at Trooping the Colour in June.

The Wales children walk to their seats.

The Princess and her father on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

The Princess and her brothers with their father in a photo released for Father’s Day.

We saw the Princess during a family outing to an air show in mid-July. 

A few days later, the older Wales children attended Wimbledon with their parents. 

She met one of the police canines working at the tournament.

This was the first time the Princess attended Wimbledon.

On the way to her seat in the royal box. 

A wave for the crowd. 

The family was at the tournament for the Men’s Final match.

Reacting to Prince George’s funny face. 

The Princess clearly enjoyed the match.

Another view. 

The family watches the Princess of Wales during the trophy presentation. 

We did not see the Princess again until December.

That was when all three Wales children attended the taping of “Royal Carols: Together At Christmas.”

The concert was taped at Westminster Abbey. 

We saw Princess Charlotte soon after the concert taping when a video was released showing the Wales children volunteering at a baby bank.

They were at Baby Bank Windsor, which is not far from their home.

They sorted clothing donations.

And selected toys that would be Christmas gifts for children.

The Princess attended Christmas Day church services at Sandringham.

Here you see her with Mia Tindall.

And with her mother. 

The children were in the family’s annual Christmas Card photo. The photos were taken by Josh Shinner.

On Christmas Day, another image from the Christmas card shoot was released.

Here, you see the Princess in all of her birthday photos. 

And side by side with Prince George in his ninth birthday picture. 

In today’s photo, the Princess wears pieces by Cyrillus, a French brand, the Diamond Wool Cardigan (£42, no longer available), and the Dark Wash Denim Skirt (no longer available).

Thank you to Found by Bojana and Royal Fashion Police for their ID work. 

All best wishes to Princess Charlotte for a very Happy Birthday!

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Now for another piece in our collection of One-Hit Wonders, designs that made a strong style statement and/or were part of an exceptional look. Today, we’re looking at just one style, a Temperley London design worn during the 2012 Jubilee Tour. 

The occasion was a tea at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Kuala Lumpur.

The Duchess’s dress featured an intricately embroidered overlay atop a blue silk lining, creating the ‘Wedgewood” effect many thought of when first seeing the piece.

The frock was based on Temperley’s ‘Aster Flower’ dress (seen below), a style from the Fall 2012 collection. In addition to the elegant embroidery, the dress features a boat neckline, flared skirt, and three-quarter sheer sleeves.

A closer look at the detail.

The Duchess accessorized with her oft-worn ‘Sledge’ pumps and ‘Natalie’ clutch, both by LK Bennett. 

Her hair was up and adorned with faux pearls. 

All the better to see the UFO aquamarine and diamond earrings worn by the Duchess.

In this photo, you see the Duke and Duchess at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.

I will see you next week with several more One-Hit Wonders!