MARKING HER BIRTHDAY WITH LOVED ONES - PRINCESS CHARLOTTE

GROWING UP FAST AS SHE CELEBRATES TURNING NINE

- EMILY NASH & ALISON EASTWOOD

Birthday girl Princess Charlotte beams for her mother’s camera in a beautiful new image taken to celebrate her ninth trip around the sun.

The Prince and Princess of Wales’s only daughter looks relaxed and confident as she leans against a fence entwined with pink blooms at the family’s Windsor home, Adelaide Cottage. The plant is an “Elizabeth” clematis – a touching nod to her great-grandmother, the late Queen, whom Charlotte clearly resembles.

The sweet portrait, taken by Princess Kate, was shared on social media with the message “Happy 9th Birthday, Princess Charlotte!

“Thank you for all of the kind messages today,” the couple added in acknowledgment of well-wishes from royal fans.

With her waist-length blond hair flowing loosely over a dark red cardigan, wearing a denim miniskirt and sporting a friendship bracelet on her right wrist, Charlotte shows she’s entering her preteen years with poise and grace.

A HISTORIC ARRIVAL 

Born on May 2, 2015, weighing 8 lb 3 oz, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana made history as the first female child of a future monarch to benefit from the Perth Agreement, which changed the rules of primogeniture to ensure that royal girls do not lose their place in the line of succession to younger brothers.