Princess Charlotte's Stunning Hair Transformation Over The Years

Princess Charlotte has drawn comparisons to Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne over the years due to her poise and composed demeanor, but in many ways, she's just like her mom, Catherine, Princess of Wales. By age 10, Charlotte's interests ranged from artistic pursuits such as piano and ballet to sports like gymnastics, soccer, rugby, and tennis. "She's clearly sporty like her mother. A bit of a mini-me," a royal insider told People.

Aside from her hobbies, Charlotte's glamorous style transformation has also been very Kate-like. Similar to her style icon mom, the princess became a fashion inspo for parents everywhere from the moment her first photo hit the papers back in 2015. Charlotte has since swapped her once-favorite floral frocks for stylish coatdresses and muted ensembles resembling Kate's signature looks, leading to many adorable twinning moments between the mother-daughter duo.

However, athleticism and good taste aren't the only things the mother-of-three has passed down to her only daughter — Charlotte has also clearly inherited Kate's good hair gene, as proven by how increasingly thick and lustrous the little princess' locks have become over the years. Though she looked like her dad William, Prince of Wales' doppelganger in a portrait of her released for her 10th birthday in May 2025, Charlotte's long tresses were definitely all Kate. From her dark brown locks as a toddler to her more recent "bronde" style, let's take a look at Princess Charlotte's stunning hair transformation over the years.

Released in November 2015, six months after her birth, Princess Charlotte's first official solo photo settled the debate over which of her parents she would take after in terms of hair and confirmed that she is naturally a brunette like her mom Catherine, Princess of Wales. And judging by Kate Middleton's baby photo, which was shared on Instagram in 2023, it appeared that Charlotte's brown locks were even darker and thicker than her mother's were around the same age.

By September 2016, Princess Charlotte's hair had grown into a chin-length bob, which her mom Catherine, Princess of Wales often swept away from her face in a neat side part using various adorable hair clips. The then-16-month-old, who could be seen embarking on her first official overseas tour in the photo above, appeared to have streaks of blonde locks woven through her brunette hair, making her once-dark tresses much lighter and looking more like her dad William, Prince of Wales' former blond mane.

After Catherine, Princess of Wales shocked royal fans with a drastic blond hair transformation in 2025, she explained that exposure to sunlight naturally lifted her hair to a lighter hue. This might have been the case for her daughter Princess Charlotte, who sported a multi-toned look when she served as a flower girl at Pippa Middleton's 2017 nuptials. Her bob had streaks of light blonde and brown running through the dark brown base, resulting in a gorgeous hairstyle that would normally take thousands of dollars to recreate in a salon.

The year 2018 was a special one for Princess Charlotte: she started preschool, became a big sister, and officially entered her "lob" era. Seen here waving at fans outside a hospital before meeting her brother Prince Louis, Charlotte's hair now extended to her collarbone, giving us the cutest long bob in royal history. The then-3-year-old's growing locks were styled in a half-up ponytail, which could have been the work of her dad William, Prince of Wales, who admitted in 2019 that it's one of the only hairstyles he could do at the time.

Princess Charlotte had a major transformation in 2019 when she began rocking the hairstyle that would eventually become her trademark look: the braided half-updo. The young princess wore her hair half-up, half-down, with braids on either side of her head during many of her public appearances throughout the year, including Trooping the Colour that June and the royal family's annual Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, Norfolk, on December 25 (pictured above). Charlotte's hair color also appeared to have undergone a shift, with dark roots contrasting the sun-kissed tips.

Princess Charlotte looked all grown-up when she attended a service held in London in honor of her late great-grandfather Prince Philip in March 2022 (above), and one major contributor was her hair. In the birthday portrait William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales shared in May 2021 for her sixth birthday (below), she still sported straight, medium-length hair that appeared to have gotten a lot of sun. However, 10 months later, Charlotte's hair was darker, longer, and wavier, channeling Kate Middleton's famous bouncy curls.

A familiar hairstyle got a magical twist when Princess Charlotte showed off her stunning sun-bleached hair on Christmas Day in 2023. The then-8-year-old royal, who wore her hair in her signature double braid 'do, sported natural ombre tresses: dark along the roots, light brown in the middle, and pale blonde at the ends. With her hair falling down to the middle of her back, Charlotte looked like real-life version of Disney's Rapunzel.

Princess Charlotte debuted a grown-up look when her dad, William, Prince of Wales brought his mini-me along to the UEFA Women's Euro Final in Switzerland for a father-daughter outing in July 2025. In a rare move, the 10-year-old stepped out without her iconic braids and instead let her pin-straight, middle-parted hair down to watch the Britain vs. Spain match with her father. Charlotte's long tresses also appeared to be lighter compared to her mane just two weeks prior when she was spotted at Wimbledon.

Princess Charlotte proved she was more than ready for royal duties when she charmed a crowd of well-wishers with her poise and confidence during the royal family's traditional walkabout on Christmas Day in 2025. However, it wasn't just her royal demeanor that caught attention; Charlotte's gorgeous beach waves also had everyone doing a double take. She styled her hair in a sleek half updo with a velvet black bow, which set off the chunky blonde highlights in her mane.