William and Kate share unseen photo of Princess Charlotte to mark her 11th birthday

A never-before-seen photo of Princess Charlotte has been released by the Prince and Princess of Wales to celebrate the young royal’s 11th birthday. The birthday portrait shows the young princess standing in a field of flowers, smiling at the camera. Charlotte wore a pair of jeans and stripped sweater for the photo, with her long hair flowing down freely and her nails painted with blue polish. The caption on the photo reads: "Wishing Charlotte a very happy 11th birthday!" alongside a cake emoji. Princess Charlotte was last seen on Easter Sunday with her brothers and her parents, as the Wales family joined the King and Queen for the traditional church service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. The birthday photo shows Charlotte looking happy, content and confident, which according to former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, are traits she inherited from her mother, Princess Kate . Jennie told the Mirror : “I think confidence in any child is born of a happy and stable home life. And that is precisely what William and Catherine have worked so hard at achieving for their children. Judging by the three of them, their parents have done a good job. “At their recent Easter outing at Windsor, it was Charlotte who looked by far the most at ease in front of the cameras and crowds, offering a little wave in their direction. Like her mother, she seems effortlessly elegant and shows every sign of being tall and slim, just like Catherine. Jennie continued of Kate’s influence on Charlotte: “Also like her mother, she is sporty and, by all accounts, is keen on trying her hand at all sorts of activities – from tap dancing to tennis, hurdles to horse riding. I think she’s living proof that the Prince and Princess are entirely justified in prioritising their family in the way that they have insisted.” The royal expert believes that William and Kate have been forthcoming about prioritising their family, and that is no more evident than on their children’s birthdays, as Jennie added that Charlotte will be showered with celebration today. “In recent decades, the royals have, with some justification, been labelled one of the most dysfunctional families in the land,” Jennie said. “And that needs to change. William and Catherine have faced criticism for making that change, by ring-fencing school holidays for example, and by simply being there for their children in the way royals of the past have not always been. And I think it’s making a crucial difference." “Charlotte will be celebrating her birthday on a Saturday which, at Lambrook, still involves some school time. But I’m sure there will be the chance to celebrate in the evening, no doubt with one of Catherine’s famous home-made birthday cakes.” While Charlotte celebrates her 11th birthday, Jennie believes that it will still be several years until the young princess takes on a permanent royal role if she wishes, as she said: “I suspect that a life of full-time royal duty does eventually await the young princess – given the dwindling number of working Royals. “But I don’t think it’s something that her parents will insist on if, in the end, it’s really something she doesn’t want to do. This is a new era and one which, I think, will afford some of the young Royals a little more choice. That, I think, is only fair.”