What to Know
Being born into the royal family comes with knowing that the world is watching and judging your every move — even before you even become an adult. After Princess Charlotte showed off her style and personality in an extremely subtle way in one of the royals’ most recent social media posts, she’s received so much criticism that royal sources are even showing concern. Can we leave this literal 11 year old child alone?
The drama began with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s anniversary portrait.
When Prince William and Kate Middleton celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in April, they shared a new photo of their family on Instagram — one that was far more relaxed than others we’ve seen from the couple in the past. Will and Kate were laying in the grass with all three of their children, everyone looking as happy as can be. They were even barefoot, which almost never happens with these people (at least, not in the photos they choose to make public).
And though it’s a very minor detail, it wasn’t lost on some that Charlotte’s nails were painted bright blue. A pretty typical color choice for many girls her age, but according to trolls on the internet, it was behavior unbecoming of a princess (or a child in general, apparently).
“Wow! My mother would never have allowed nail varnish on my sisters at her age…” one critic wrote on X.
Royal insiders aren’t happy about the trolls coming after Charlotte.
As royal insiders told OK! Magazine, Charlotte is being “hammered” by online trolls, and of course, it’s concerning — a little girl and what color her fingernails on should never inspire this level of vitriol from anyone.
“The web is closely monitored in the aftermath of pictures like this being posted, and the reaction to this has been horrific,” the source said. “Trolls are asking why a 10-year-old is being allowed to wear nail polish, with many poking fan at her in language that is unrepeatable.”
A second source told the outlet that the backlash could mean that Charlotte is growing up, despite the fact that she is still very young.
“There is a tendency for even the smallest personal choices to become symbolic when it comes to royal children. Something as simple as nail polish can quickly be framed as a statement, whether intended or not. What we are seeing is a shift – Charlotte is no longer viewed solely as a child, and that brings a different level of commentary, particularly online,” they added. “The response reflects broader pressures around appearance and expectation. It is less about the nail color itself and more about how people project meaning onto it, and it also points to the brutal pressures Charlotte is going to face growing up in perhaps the world’s most famous family.”
There have been strict expectations about nail polish in the monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth always seemed to prefer that royal women stick to neutral colors and neatly manicured nails, and Kate has followed suit. But Charlotte is a kid, and what kid wouldn’t want bright blue nails instead of pale pink?
Hopefully none of the criticism ever reached Charlotte. She doesn’t need to know about the unnecessarily petty stuff adults are saying online.
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