Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Princess Charlotte is Princess Diana's double in touching childhood photo with Charles Spencer

The late Princess of Wales bore a striking resemblance to her granddaughter  

Princess Diana wearing a blue shirt
Katie Daly
Lifestyle Writer
Share this:

Charles Spencer took to Instagram to share a sweet unearthed photo of his childhood featuring his late sister Princess Diana and the likeness to Princess Charlotte is uncanny.

The Earl, 59, shared a black and white photo from 1967 on Saturday where the late Princess of Wales was seen at the age of six in a capped-sleeve white linen top and shorts with a pair of flip flops on with her brother. 

Earl Charles Spencer attends the ICAP charity day at ICAP on December 9, 2015 in London© Getty
Earl Charles Spencer is the younger brother of Princess Diana

Charles was seen at the age of just three in an adorable plaid top and shorts with socks and sandals sitting on a swing in the garden at what we can assume is their childhood home - the Althorp estate in West Northamptonshire. 

View post on Instagram
 

Charles and Diana's mother, Frances Kydd, was also seen in the photo at the age of 31 in a white top and pencil skirt. The siblings grinned at the camera with Princess Diana looking just like her granddaughter Princess Charlotte. 

Charlotte in green coat© Getty
Charlotte resembles her late grandmother

"My mother, Diana and I, in c. 1967. I would have been three, and Diana 5 or 6. I love how happy each of us looks, the doting brother wrote. "At this stage of my life, my mother nicknamed me 'Buzz' because she saw me as having the endless energy of a rather happy - and busy - bee."

Diana in 1969© Getty
Diana in 1969
View post on Instagram
 

Earl Spencer has been known to post heartwarming childhood photos from his and Diana's younger years. One which garnered over 32,000 likes saw a young Diana with her arm around her little brother wearing a sweet pink and white gingham dress and Mary-Janes.

diana as child with croquet mallet© Getty
Royal followers often point out the likeness with Charlotte

Diana and her brother were rarely photographed in public after she became royal. They were however spotted in a rare public embrace at the Birthright charity ball in 1985 where Diana stunned in a red thigh-split midi dress with a deep V-shaped cutout on the back and ruching across the stomach. 

Diana and Charles  in 1968© Getty
Diana and Charles were photographed in 1968

The world will always remember Earl Spencer for his speech at Princess Diana's 1997 funeral, but Diana was one of four. The late Princess also had two older sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes. 

charles kissing diana on cheek© Getty
Diana and her brother wore red to the Birthright Ball

Prince William and Prince Harry publicly greeted their aunts at the unveiling of a statue of their mother at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace in 2021 on what would have been her 60th birthday.

William kissing their aunts on cheek© Getty
William and Harry publicly reunited with their aunts

While Diana's older sisters have lived out of the public eye since their sister's death, Charles has been a vocal advocate for Diana's legacy. The late Princess was buried at the Althorp estate where her brother built a garden temple memorial and a museum to celebrate her life and the impact she had had on others.

Charles spencer by statue of diana and children© Getty
Charles has continued Diana's legacy

DISCOVER: Charles Spencer's wife Lady Karen shares rare photo of 'magical' library at Althorp House 

The museum was opened to the public in 1998 and all profits go towards Diana's Memorial Fund, a charity Charles Spencer set up to continue to fund her humanitarian work in the UK and overseas. The charity closed in 2012. In July 2020, it was reported that the money was donated to William and Harry's independent charities.

LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!

Princess Kate wearing black and white polka dots and a hat

If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with all things royalty – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we’ve launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club. We would love you to join us there…

What is it?

Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle.

Member benefits

  • Two weekly newsletters, one from Emily Nash
  • Video posts and audio notes from Emily Nash and the HELLO! Royal team
  • Access to our royal community and opportunity to interact with club writers and members
  • Participate in polls, comments and discussion threads
  • Access to our Ask Me Anything sessions with our journalists
  • Invitations to in-person and virtual events
  • A subscription to the digital edition of HELLO! Magazine (Worth £82 annually)*
  • Future ‘Inner Circle’ benefits

By royal decree

You are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!

More Parenting

See more