- I wanted to see what it would be like to live like
Princess Charlotte , Britain's youngest princess and the only daughter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. - Charlotte, who turns five on May 2, has been keeping busy during lockdown by baking with her parents and attending home-schooling classes.
- From my failed attempt at following a Buckingham Palace cake recipe, to scaring my neighbors with the royal wave, I certainly had fun acting like a princess for a week.
- I could easily keep it up after lockdown is over.
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As the UK approached its sixth week of lockdown, I wanted to try something that would make my regular routine more interesting.
And after seeing the sweet video of Prince William and Kate Middleton applauding healthcare workers outside their home with their three children, I knew exactly whose lockdown routine I wanted to replicate.
The couple's youngest daughter, Princess Charlotte, encompasses everything we expect from a modern royal. With her perfect replication of the Queen's wave — and, for the first time at Christmas, a royal curtsy — the young princess has already got protocol down to a tee.
But Charlotte, who turns five on May 2, doesn't take herself too seriously either. She has been photographed sticking her tongue out at the press on numerous engagements.
After reading comments from the Duchess of Cambridge about how she's been keeping her children busy during lockdown, I had all the information I needed to dive right in.
Without further ado, here's how I managed trying to live like Princess Charlotte for a week.
I kicked off the week making birthday cake using the official Buckingham Palace recipe
In an interview with the BBC, Kate Middleton said she has been cooking and baking with Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince Louis during lockdown.
The duchess didn't go into detail with particular recipes, however I managed to find a Buckingham Palace approved recipe for chocolate birthday cake.
The palace shared the recipe for chocolate birthday cupcakes for the Queen's birthday in April.
—TheRoyal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 21, 2020
Needless to say, I wasn't going to be able to create my version to the same standard as the Queen's pastry chefs — but in honor of Charlotte's upcoming fifth birthday, I was going to try anyway.
First of all, I decided not to make cupcakes, but to use the same recipe to try and create one standard birthday cake.
I'll admit, I haven't baked in a few years, and while it may be easy for some, my lack of practice certainly showed.
Let's just say, it didn't turn out as I had initially hoped. In fact, the cake ended up sinking a little in the middle, so it definitely didn't look appetizing enough for me to take a photo of the cake as a whole.
Instead, here's a photo of a slice. I promise, it tasted far better than it looks.
I enrolled in the free 'History of Royal Fashion' online course
Middleton spoke about home-schooling her children during her BBC interview last month, saying: "Don't tell the children, but we've actually kept it going through the holidays.
"I feel very mean. The children have so much stamina — I don't know how honestly," she said.
I decided my version of home-schooling would be signing up for an online course. I choose the "History of Royal Fashion" course, which is run by FutureLearn in partnership with the University of Glasgow.
I had been eager to try it ever since interviewing one of the course lecturers, Sally Tuckett, last year. The class, which allows you to learn about everything from Queen Victoria to Princess Diana's style, shows how the
The five-week course focuses on a different set of royals each week: The Tudors, The Stuarts, The Georgians, The Victorians, and The Windsors.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first week of the class. Since it's not a requirement to complete course work chronologically week by week, I got to divert back and forth on the different topics for each week.
This was an ideal course for a royal-wannabe like myself. Although, I imagine a real princess, like Charlotte, has probably been taught all about her ancestors' fashion, even at the age of five.
I learned how to master Charlotte's iconic wave
There's no doubt that the Cambridge family will be getting their one hour of daily exercise near the grounds of Anmer Hall, their country home in Norfolk.
You only have to look at the adorable pictures of Prince Louis playing with paint outside to know the family are making sure to spend as much time outdoors as they can.
However, while the royal children were likely previously encouraged to shake hands with any neighbors or staff members they might have bumped into on the grounds, now they'll be keeping a safe two-meter distance like the rest of us.
So I thought, what better time to learn Charlotte's iconic wave?
I spoke to Grant Harrold, former butler to Prince Charles, about how I should approach it.
"There's no written rule to exactly how a royal wave should be," Harrold told me over the phone.
"From what I've seen over the years, they [the royal family] all have got a unique wave. George VI's wave involved motioning his hand back and forward almost in an electronic motion. The Queen has taken this a step forward, with a circular motion, spinning the hand forward."
Charlotte is well-known for her adorable version of the Queen's wave (remember Harry and Meghan's wedding?) So I tried this version, using it to greet my neighbors as I went for my walk each day throughout the week.
So, there you have it — and who would have thought making a chocolate cake, completing an online course, and mastering the "royal wave" is all you need to live like Charlotte?
Needless to say, I received a few strange looks for my version of the wave. But it was worth it, to feel like a princess for a short while.
Read more:
24 photos that prove Princess Charlotte is the sassiest royal
I tried the Queen's lockdown routine every morning for a week, and I wouldn't do it again
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