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The sweet connection between Princess Kate and Pippa Middleton's daughters you may not know about

Carole and Michael Middleton are also doting parents to son James 


Kate Middleton and Pippa Middleton at Wimbledon 2019
Phoebe Tatham
Content Writer
On 7 April 2024
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The Princess of Wales shares a close bond with her lookalike sister Pippa Middleton. From attending the same school in Wiltshire, to Pippa's huge supporting role as Kate's maid of honour at her royal wedding in April 2011, their relationship is evidently very special.

But did you know that both their daughters also share a special connection, thanks to their unique names? Princess Kate's daughter Princess Charlotte and Pippa's daughter Grace both have Elizabeth as their middle name - a moniker passed on through the Middleton family via Carole and Kate who also share the sweet name.

 Princess Charlotte of Wales watches the Wimbledon 2023 men's final© Getty Images
Princess Charlotte shares a special middle name with Pippa Middleton's daughter

Princess Charlotte's name also pays tribute to her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whilst the addition of Diana is a touching nod to William's late mother, Princess Diana.

In informal settings, however, Princess Charlotte is affectionately known as 'Lottie', whilst she's also been referred to as 'mignonette' which derives from the French word for cute, 'mignon'. Prince William employed the moniker during a family visit to Kate's Back to Nature garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, where he was overheard using the sweet nickname.

william smiling at charlotte© Getty Images
Prince William affectionately calls his daughter 'Mignonette'

Aside from meaning 'little darling' or 'cutie', many royal fans at the time argued that 'Mignonette' was in fact a subtle nod to the French sauce made from shallots, given that 'shallot' sounds strikingly similar to the name Charlotte.

While Prince William and Princess Kate are doting parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, Pippa and her husband James Matthews also share three children together: Arthur, five, Grace, two, and youngest Rose whom they welcomed in the summer of 2022.

Pippa kept details of her third pregnancy very quiet and we only realised that she was expecting when she debuted her bump at the late Queen's Platinum Party at the Palace celebrations in June 2022.

couple attending wedding © Getty Images
James Matthews and Pippa Middleton share three children together

While occasionally, Pippa used to be spotted with her children out and about in London, the mother-of-three has kept her three children out of the limelight ever since she relocated from the UK capital to the blissful countryside.

Pippa and James live in a beautiful Georgian mansion in Berkshire which according to the Daily Mail's Eden Confidential, boasts 30 rooms, around 150 acres, a walled garden and greenhouses.

couple on their wedding day © Getty Images
Pippa and James tied the knot in 2017

Rather conveniently, Pippa's parents Carole and Michael Middleton live around a 20-minute drive away, meaning Arthur, Grace and Rose are able to easily spend quality time with their grandparents.

Meanwhile James Middleton and his wife Alizée Thevenet are also based in the nearby area where they live with their beloved pet pooches and their baby boy Inigo whom they welcomed in October last year. 

View post on Instagram
 

They announced their joyous baby news on Instagram, writing: "He has been in our lives for just a few weeks but they have been the most special of my life getting to know our beautiful baby boy.

"No matter how prepared I thought I was… I was not prepared for the overwhelming emotion of meeting Inigo for the first time and the love for my darling Alizée as we became three."

LISTEN: Inside King Charles' private lunch with Princess Kate