Princess Charlotte, 11, Shows Off Her Preppy British Style With Flare Jeans

By Kelsey Goldbach
Princess Charlotte waving while riding in a car at Trooping the Colour 2026. Neil Mockford/Getty

Princess Charlotte is starting to come into her own style, and she's bringing a modern edge to the royal fashion. The 11-year-old daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton was pictured wearing trendy flared jeans and a navy-blue sweater while congratulating her mother on completing the July 2026 National Three Peaks Challenge. Princess Charlotte has undergone a royally good style evolution so far, and this understated look is proof that she's shaping up to be just as fashionable as Kate. 

Some online were quick to point out the similarities between Charlotte's recent outfit and one of her father's iconic looks from the late 1990s. One user on X posted side-by-side photos of Charlotte and Prince William both rocking a (very '90s) flare jeans and navy-blue cardigan combo. "Omg I just realized who Charlotte's style icon is," they noted in the caption. Fans underneath the post agreed, with another referring to the young princess as a "mini William." Charlotte's preppy style is the perfect fit for a royal like herself, classic and clean, yet not as buttoned-up and polished as her family is generally expected to be at public events. 

Princess Charlotte is already starting to break royal style rules

Princess Charlotte pictured at Wimbledon in 2025 with her hands on her mouth wearing pink nail polish.. Karwai Tang/Getty Images

Like her mother, Kate Middleton, and aunt Meghan Markle, Princess Charlotte may grow up to be a royal fashion pioneer. Before she rocked trendy flared jeans at the end of the Three Peaks Challenge, Princess Charlotte previously broke a royal beauty tradition with something unassuming: her nail polish. Colorful shades of nail polish are reportedly a no-no for royals, but Charlotte was spotted wearing light blue nail polish in an April 2026 royal family photo, and that wasn't the first time. In 2025, with her Wimbledon look, Princess Charlotte broke that royal style tradition yet again, this time with bright-pink nail polish. 

Her late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, preferred neutral nail colors, and it was said by insiders that she occasionally took issue with royal women rocking more stand-out shades (like Meghan's dark nail polish at the 2018 British Fashion Awards). Nevertheless, Kate, Meghan, and even Princess Eugenie have shirked this unofficial style rule in favor of bolder colors from time to time. Though still very young, Charlotte is clearly starting to follow in her family's footsteps in terms of modernizing British royal fashion.