Yesterday, Kensington Palace released a new photo of Princess Charlotte to mark her second birthday. The photo was taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at their home in Norfolk, Anmer Hall. This practice is typical of how the Cambridges have been handling milestones in their children’s lives – sharing informal, family-taken photos that they release directly via social media.

Normally a series of photos are released whereas in this case there was only one, however I’m not surprised given that there will be more public images of the children available later this month when they participate in the wedding of their aunt, Pippa Middleton. Much like how when Prince George turned two in 2015 only one photo of him was released given that he was snapped so profusely at Charlotte’s christening. Or how the Cambridges didn’t release a Christmas card this past year, but allowed photographs of them walking to and from church in Berkshire to be published. All in moderation, I suppose.

I have to say I was taken aback by how much older Charlotte looks in this photo as compared to the images of her just four months ago at Christmas. Most noticeably her hair is significantly longer and, unlike her very blonde brother, it looks like she’ll definitely be a brunette.

There’s always been commentary that Charlotte looks like her great-grandmother the Queen and while I agree, I also see a fair bit of her father, the Duke of Cambridge, as well as her Middleton relatives, particularly in the cheeks.

In any event, lovely photo, Happy Birthday and I’ve seen on Twitter that the clothes she’s wearing have already sold out online. Like mother like daughter.