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Will Princess Charlotte follow in this royal female tradition?

Will Princess Charlotte be a fan of this hugely popular sport?

princess charlotte hospital
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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From the Queen to Princess Charlotte, female members of the royal family tend to have a very similar upbringing in many ways. While being educated in the best schools and slowly introduced to their official royal duties, and how to achieve the particular set of manners expected of a member of the royal family, they also have very similar interests. While the male members of the royal family tend to try their hand at polo, with Princes Philip, Charles, William and Harry among those to have taken part in the sport, female royals have also made a name for themselves in the world of equestrian sports.

queen elizabeth princess anne horse riding© Photo: Getty Images

The Queen and Princess Anne riding together

While the Queen has also been passionate about horses, and was even spotted horseback riding at the age of 92 back in April, she is also passionate about breeding thoroughbreds for horse racing, and hosts the Royal Windsor Horse Show every year at Windsor Park. The royal started riding at the age of four, and has ridden in ceremonial roles during Trooping the Colour until 1987 after her horse of 18 years, Burmese, retired. Although Her Majesty never rode competitively, her daughter, Princess Anne, followed her passion. The Princess Royal won two silver medals and one gold medal at the European Eventing Championships, and competed in the Olympic Games. Prince Philip also once jokily spoke about Anne's love of horses, saying: "If it doesn't fart or eat hay then she isn't interested."

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Princess Anne's daughter Zara Tindall is also a celebrated equestrian sportswoman, and won the Eventing World Championship back in 2006, as well as a silver medal in the 2012 Olympics as part of the Great Britain Evening Team. So will Princess Charlotte follow in this tradition among the women of the royal family? According the equestrian Natasha Baker, the Duchess of Cambridge has revealed that the three-year-old has already started learning to ride. Speaking about their conversation, Natasha explained: "I asked her how the children were, and she said Charlotte is really enjoying her riding which is great to hear, and I said we may see her here on a line-up in 20 years' time… She emphasised that Charlotte has this passion for horses and although she doesn't echo it, she'll do her best to champion and encourage it."

READ: When will Princess Charlotte be given the title Princess Royal?

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