George and Charlotte, the great royal double act: how they remind us of young Charles and Anne

They are already a famous stunt double as their latest commando performance made clear, whether waving gleefully to the crowd or punching the air with delight as Carlos Alcaraz bested Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s final.

However, George and Charlotte and not just the prince and princess double act of late.

Seasoned royal watchers have long remembered their grandfather King Charles III and his sister Ana, the Princess Royal, in their youth.

Born 21 months apart, Charles was just three years old and Anne not yet two when their late mother, then-Princess Elizabeth, ascended the throne in 1952.

Prince Charles and Princess Anne greet royal observers during a family trip to Balmoral in May 1956.

Prince George (right) and Princess Charlotte (left) stole the show as the pair punched the air in delight to celebrate the world number one’s maiden Wimbledon title in the five-set epic.

Princess Charlotte and Prince George of Wales arrive at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon

Moving from her family’s Piccadilly home to the vast spaces of Buckingham Palace when she became queen, the two young royals seemed to lean on each other as they navigated their strange new life.

A poignant image shows Charles helping his sister down the steps to greet Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as they arrived in Malta to greet their parents in 1954.

Charles and Anne are known to have enjoyed each other’s company, sharing a love of the countryside, an affection for all things Scottish and, to some extent, a sense of humour.

It has been suggested that they forged a special bond.

The youngest of the three sons of Wales, Prince Louis has a different path to negotiate, as he is neither the heir nor the spare.

Being the junior in the setup can be a difficult role in its own way, as Prince Andrew and Edward perhaps found out.

Anne reportedly knew how to assert herself in any room from an early age, according to The expressa quality many today associate with Princess Charlotte.

A former royal nanny, Mabel Anderson, has said that Charles was “never as boisterous or rowdy as Princess Anne”, who, by far, had a “much stronger and more outgoing personality”.

Princess Anne and her brother, Prince Charles, walking hand in hand as they were taken to Malta to meet their parents after a tour of the Commonwealth in 1954.

Princess Anne, aged three, and Prince Charles, aged five, standing side by side in the garden of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park in 1954

Charlotte and George on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Color parade on June 17, 2017

The Queen, Prince Charles and Princess Anne waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Color ceremony in 1963

The Queen with Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children George, Charlotte and Louis on the balcony during the Platinum Pageant on June 5, 2022

Princess Charlotte has proven to be a real leader along with her two brothers.

The eight-year-old showed a calm beyond her years at King Charles’s coronation in May as she led her younger brother, Prince Louis, by the hand, to Westminster Abbey.

Royal observers have often commented on Charlotte’s sisterly authority over her siblings during royal engagements.

Body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL: “Charlotte seems to be something of the little leader in the family dynamic, stepping into the pose with her parents curiously out of line of sight and instigating the applause, using what seems like the most energy and emotion.”

“Charlotte has always seemed the most enthusiastic about greeting and applauding the public, and her meet and greet with the crowd at Christmas suggested that Kate and William might come to terms with the fact that she is currently the most confident of their children in social situations.”

Today, George and Charlotte attend Lambbrook School in Berkshire together.

However, Charles and Anne attended different boarding schools in the 1950s and 1960s.

Speaking to the Observer in 1980, Anne admitted that she had “always accepted the role of second in everything from a very early age” and that “you take that position as part of that experience”.

Like his grandfather and father, George is destined for the throne, setting him apart from his younger brothers.

However, it is likely that he will come to depend on a sister as close in age and experience when he finally takes his place as king, as Charles did with Anne.

Since Queen Elizabeth’s death, the princess royal has been by her brother’s side.

In a statement released in September 2022, she said: “I am also very grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the additional responsibilities of The Monarch.”

The royal children of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip leaving the grounds of Abergeldie Castle near the Balmoral Estate in Scotland in August 1955.

Prince William and Prince Harry vacation with the Spanish royal family at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on August 13, 1988.

The then Prince of Wales with his sister Princess Anne and grandmother Princess Andrew of Greece upon arrival at Portsmouth station.

George and Charlotte during the state funeral of their great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022.

And the visible support has continued, through the King’s Coronation and beyond.

There was a time when Prince William might have expected the same close support from his younger brother, Prince Harry, who were bonded by the death of their mother and growing up in the public eye.

However, the unraveling of that relationship, at least for the moment, has become a personal problem for William and a problem for the Monarchy.

As the royal expert Katie Nicholl said OK!, ‘The last two years have been challenging. We’ve had sibling fights and Megxit, and I think it’s been hard for William.

“She’s lost her support act in Harry, but she really recognizes that she has an invaluable support act in Kate.”

Following his departure from Britain and as a working member of the royal family, the Duke of Sussex revealed in his memoir Spare how his role was made clear early on: to provide a spare part for his brother, the future King William.

Harry told the story of how his father, King Charles, reportedly told Princess Diana on the day of Harry’s birth: ‘Wonderful! Now that you have given me an heir and a spare, my work is done.

Charles and Anne share a love of horse riding, with Anne being an accomplished equestrian and Charles playing polo competitively until the age of 57.

Even during royal engagements, the royals always seemed to be enjoying themselves and were often pictured laughing together.

Both Charles and Anne are known for their witty sense of humor and a clip from a Buckingham Palace event in 2018 showed the King sneaking up on his younger sister to scare her a bit.

If Wimbledon’s Royal Box was anything to go by last weekend, there’s plenty more to come.