The British Royal Family (and royal families across the globe) are heavily protected, generally always follow a strict protocol and rarely let their guard down - apart from when children are involved! These are the cutest royal kid moments as they've grown up over the years.
Queen Elizabeth II's great-grandchildren, the kids of the extended Royal Family and the young European Royals are known for pulling silly faces, the odd grumpy strop and showing their love and affection in abundance, the way that children so freely do. Never afraid to express themselves, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have a starring role in our round-up of the cutest royal kid moments.
Prince William has previously said his children are "very cheeky" and they certainly stay true to form, but there are some other adorable moments from little ones in the rest of the royal family, too. We challenge you not to have a smile on your face after reading this!
32 cute royal kid moments
1. Prince George meets president Obama
Only the future King of England could meet the President of the United States...in his fluffy dressing gown! Prince George, who is now second in the royal line of succession, essentially broke the internet back in 2016, when a picture surfaced of him looking a little bashful shaking the hand of Barack Obama wrapped up in a mini robe. How adorable!
2. Princess Catherine reassures her children
It's been well documented that the Princess of Wales often kneels down to speak to her children - as well as other people's children - to communicate with them at eye level, a technique that is thought to build trust. Holding his mum's hand, George looks reassured as they arrive at Victoria International Airport in Victoria, Canada.
3. Prince George's first royal wave
A young Prince George was captured on camera attempting the royal wave on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the family's annual appearance for Trooping the Colour back in June 2015. Looking a little bewildered in his dad's arms, Princess Catherine and Prince William's firstborn practices what will become one of the future King's signature moves.
4. Prince George shows Prince Louis how it's done
Carrying on the tradition, Prince George shows his younger brother Prince Louis how it's done, this time at the Trooping the Colour parade in June 2023. This was a very special day for the brothers, as it was the first Trooping the Colour held for King Charles III since he ascended to the throne.
5. Cheeky Prince Louis tells his mum to be quiet
Prince Louis stole the show during the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 with his cheeky antics and endearingly grumpy temperament. The youngster is known for being a particularly expressive child and this particular moment became the front cover of a book entitled Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family.
6. Savannah Phillips and Isla Phillips hold hands with Lena Tindall
It's heartwarming to see the relationship blossoming among the younger generation of the Royal Family. Here we see a sweet moment on captured on camera where Savannah Phillips and Isla Phillips are helping little Lena Tindall along during the 2019 Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, held in Stroud in the English countryside.
7. Prince George tucks into a candy cane
Is there a more festive sight than Prince George in his Sunday best coat, enjoying a candy cane, on his way out of the Christmas Day service? Prince George and his family attended the annual service at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire, back in 2016 and it's safe to say George got into the Christmas spirit.
8. Prince George's grumpy wedding face
Prince George's early years were a real gift to photographers, with countless funny expressions and silly faces captured on camera. Here, George was spotted among angelic-looking bridesmaids at the wedding of Princess Eugenie And Jack Brooksbank in Windsor in 2018 with a slightly more pensive expression - he's not one to hold back when he's feeling a little bored or cranky!
9. The first glimpse of Prince Archie's red hair
During an engagement with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2019, Archie was all smiles for the camera with mum Meghan Markle during the Sussex family's royal tour of Africa. As Archie is rarely photographed, it's the first time royal fans got a glimpse of his tuft of red hair - just like his dad, Prince Harry's. What a cheeky grin!
10. The Wales family meet Sir David Attenborough
It's not every day that you have the legendary Sir David Attenborough round for a garden party - but this was the reality for Prince William and his family in 2020 after he and Sir David attended an outdoor screening of his latest feature film, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, which is available to watch on Netflix.
11. Prince William and his children pose for Father's Day
The Wales family's official 2023 Father's Day photograph, which was taken by photographer Millie Pilkington, sees Prince William and his children keeping things lighthearted during a sweet moment between father and children - coordinating in, naturally, royal blue. True to form, Prince Louis is pictured on his dad's shoulders with a cheeky grin, while Prince George and Princess Charlotte are pictured looking adoringly at their dad.
12. Prince George helps out at auntie Pippa's wedding
Prince George teamed up with Princess Charlotte as helpers at his auntie Pippa Middleton and husband James Matthews' wedding in 2017. In true Prince George style, he looks a little reluctant to be handing out confetti, but his adorable wedding outfit more than makes up for the unenthusiastic expression.
13. Princess Charlotte gets stuck in at the tennis
Princess Charlotte clearly shares her parents' sporty genes, pictured fully immersed in the Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic match in the Wimbledon 2023 men's final at Centre Court. Princess Charlotte has already taken a keen interest in sports, with her favourites reported to be football and gymnastics.
14. Savannah Phillips shuts up Prince George
The funniest thing about this candid snap that shares a snapshot into the relationship between Savannah Phillips and her younger cousin Prince George is the 11-year-old's facial expression - such sass! The pair are pictured on the balcony for Trooping the Colour in 2018, with George's dad Prince William looking down at the pair with a rather bemused expression.
15. Princess Estelle takes a break
In a truly relatable moment between mother and daughter, Princess Estelle and Princess Victoria of Sweden are pictured as they leave for the Royal Christening of Princess Leonore at Drottningholm Palace - and it looks like Princess Estelle of Sweden, the Duchess of Östergötland to use her full title, has had enough of walking for the time being and fancies a bit of a rest.
16. Princess Catherine cracks a joke with her daughter
It's heartwarming to see the bond between the mothers and daughters in the Royal Family grow over the years and there's no shortage of sweet moments between the Princess of Wales and her daughter Princess Charlotte. Here, they're pictured watching the swimming competition at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre during the 2022 Commonwealth Games - and it looks like Princess Catherine has just said something rather amusing.
17. Lena Tindall is joined at the hip with her toy horse
Little ones all have their favourite soft animals, toys and keepsakes - and Mike and Zara Tindall's daughter Lena is no different. Here we see her clinging to her soft toy horse, which was a gift from the Pony Club, during a festival at Gatcombe Park back in 2019.
18. Princess Charlotte looked enamoured by the flypast
In a super sweet family moment, a young Princess Charlotte and Prince George both look completely enamoured watching the flypast from the RAF to mark Trooping the Colour festivities back in 2016. The siblings are pictured on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with their parents as the planes fly past.
19.Two siblings share a cheeky exchange
We've no doubt there are all kinds of secret codes and in-jokes between Prince George and Princess Charlotte - but it's always refreshing to see the children who are bound to such strict protocols behaving just like any other young siblings. Here, they're pictured looking thick as thieves during an exchange watching a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the 2022 Trooping the Colour celebrations.
20. Mother and daughter walk hand in hand
Another adorable mother-daughter moment! Princess Charlotte and Princess Catherine walk hand in hand, both dressed in super stylish winter coats for a royal visit to Cardiff Castle in 2022. Princess Charlotte is growing up fast!
21. Prince George peering at his new baby sister
In this sweet picture, we see a young Prince George already taking his brotherly duties very seriously, keeping a watchful eye over his baby sister Princess Charlotte at her christening in King's Lynn, Norfolk, back in 2015. At the time George would have only been two-years-old, standing on his tiptoes to peer over the side of her buggy.
22. Prince Louis's almighty eye roll at the Coronation
While the Coronation of King Charles III in May 2023 was a momentous day in British history, at times it was perhaps a little much for young Louis. The five-year-old was previously dubbed the 'Prince of faces' on social media after he made an appearance at the royal Easter service the month before and didn't hold back his emotions with a huge eye roll. To be fair to him - it could have been a bit of a dull moment, as the rest of the family didn't look too impressed either...
23. Prince Louis awaits his first royal engagement
Prince Louis looks out the window before his first-ever royal engagement before the Royal Family's Trooping the Colour balcony appearance in 2019. Prince Louis, who was the tender age of one at the time, stood alongside his sister Princess Charlotte before the big event.
24. Mia Tindall swings around baby brother Lucas Tindall
Mia Tindall is growing up fast! While Mike and Zara's daughter may be just eight-years-old here, she was spotted picking up her little brother Lucas at an equestrian event in the summer of 2022. Two-year-old Lucas Philip Tindall is the Princess Anne's youngest grandchild.
25. Prince Louis looks unimpressed at Trooping the Colour
It would appear that the Trooping the Colour family balcony provides a lot of the cutest royal kids moments and expressive Prince Louis offers up comedy gold. At the 2022 celebrations, the youngster's grumpy expressions came out in full force while watching the RAF air show - perhaps he's just not a fan of the noisy flypast...
26. Prince William and Prince Harry in matching uniforms
We couldn't sum up the cutest royal kid moments without delving deep into the archives to find some snaps of a young Prince William and Prince Harry. The brothers are pictured outside Wetherby School in London in the '80s, wearing adorable matching outfits, alongside their mother, the late Princess Diana.
27. Prince Harry braves a water slide
Prince Harry and his mum, the late Princess of Wales, are pictured sharing an exhilarating moment together on the Depth Charge ride at Thorpe Park in 1992. Princess Diana looks like she's enjoying the ride, while Prince Harry's getting the brunt of the water spray.
28. King Charles poses for a photo with his two sons
King Charles is pictured sharing a playful moment with his sons at Kensington Palace during a photoshoot in 1985, the now King lifting a tiny Prince Harry onto Prince William's shoulders as he laughs with his sons. At the time, the young family lived in apartments 8 and 9 within the Palace.
29. Prince Harry shares a moment with Arkie the dog
A very small Prince Harry is pictured stroking a huge dog while on holiday in Majorca back in the '80s, with the dog almost as tall as he is. The dog in question is Arkie, the family dog of King Juan Carlos and his wife Sofia who invited the family to their home at Marivent Palace in Palma. Looks like Harry's love of animals started at a young age!
30. William and Harry pose in matching army uniforms
Prince Harry and Prince William are matching again, this time in adorable army uniforms on the steps of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire. Both brothers would go on to serve time in the British military as adults, being awarded special military titles for their time in the army. Prince Harry shared details of his army career in his tell-all memoir, Spare.
31. King Charles and Princess Anne look out of the window
King Charles and Princess Anne have always had a special bond as the two eldest siblings of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Here, they're pictured looking out the window in the '50s in their early years. The pair have continued to stand side by side together throughout their lives, often enjoying a joke together, unlike this more sombre moment when they were youngsters.
32. Baby King Charles flashes a big smile
In one of the first-ever pictures of the King of England, a then-Prince Charles beams at the camera. A picture of innocence, baby Charles is sat up in his pram during a walk with royal nanny Helen Lightbody in Green Park in 1949.
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