Princess Charlotte delivers handmade pasta to pensioners in new birthday photographs

Rebecca Taylor
·Royal Correspondent
Updated ·4-min read

New photographs of Princess Charlotte show the young royal playing her part to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared the photographs of their daughter as they volunteered earlier this month.

The pictures were taken in April on the Sandringham Estate, where the family was helping to pack and deliver food parcels for vulnerable and isolated pensioners in the local area.

Charlotte has been with her parents and brothers in Anmer Hall in Norfolk during the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK. Anmer Hall is about two miles away from the Queen’s Sandringham home.

EMBARGOED to 2230 BST Friday May 1, 2020. No use on social media preview ahead of that time. Copyright: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER 31 DECEMBER, 2020, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM KENSINGTON PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing. MANDATORY CREDIT: The Duchess of Cambridge. Undated handout photo released by Kensington Palace of Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her fifth birthday Saturday, taken in April by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the Sandringham Estate, where the family helped to pack up and deliver food packages for isolated pensioners in the local area.
Charlotte helped her parents make pasta before they packed and delivered food parcels. (Duchess of Cambridge)
EMBARGOED to 2230 BST Friday May 1, 2020. No use on social media preview ahead of that time. Copyright: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER 31 DECEMBER, 2020, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM KENSINGTON PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing. MANDATORY CREDIT: The Duchess of Cambridge. Undated handout photo released by Kensington Palace of Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her fifth birthday Saturday, taken in April by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the Sandringham Estate, where the family helped to pack up and deliver food packages for isolated pensioners in the local area.
Charlotte helps to pack the boxes ready for delivery. (The Duchess of Cambridge)

The princess is shown in two photographs holding white bags of fresh food for pensioners shielding themselves due to the coronavirus outbreak or other vulnerable people in lockdown in Norfolk.

In another, she knocks on a door while holding fresh pasta - which had been handmade by William, Kate, and the children the day before.

She is wearing a gingham dress and grey tights, with black shoes.

The Cambridges got soaked as they were caught in the rain during the deliveries.

Buckingham Palace said the Queen’s staff has spent the last five weeks preparing and delivering meals for pensioners and vulnerable people living in the local area.

EMBARGOED to 2230 BST Friday May 1, 2020. No use on social media preview ahead of that time. Copyright: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER 31 DECEMBER, 2020, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM KENSINGTON PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing. MANDATORY CREDIT: The Duchess of Cambridge. Undated handout photo released by Kensington Palace of Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her fifth birthday Saturday, taken in April by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the Sandringham Estate, where the family helped to pack up and deliver food packages for isolated pensioners in the local area.
Charlotte, who turns five on Saturday, will spend her birthday in Norfolk. (Duchess of Cambridge)

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They made and delivered 1,000 meals in the first week alone.

It is not known if William was behind the wheel of the delivery van which was from the Sandringham Visitor Centre.

Charlotte’s helping hand comes about 10 days after her brother Louis was photographed as he paid his own tribute to those fighting coronavirus. Louis’s birthday photos showed him making a rainbow hand print painting, like other children in the UK, to honour NHS workers.

The family has been taking part in the weekly Clap for Carers on Thursday evenings too, and did so after a BBC skit involving William on the Big Night In show.

EMBARGOED to 2230 BST Friday May 1, 2020. No use on social media preview ahead of that time. Copyright: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER 31 DECEMBER, 2020, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM KENSINGTON PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing. MANDATORY CREDIT: The Duchess of Cambridge. Undated handout photo released by Kensington Palace of Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her fifth birthday Saturday, taken in April by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the Sandringham Estate, where the family helped to pack up and deliver food packages for isolated pensioners in the local area.
A royal delivery as Charlotte knocks a door in Sandringham. (The Duchess of Cambridge)

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Charlotte and her older brother George, six, have been homeschooled by their parents since mid-March, when their school, Thomas’s Battersea, closed its doors to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Kate admitted she had kept her two older children going with homeschooling during the Easter holidays.

Charlotte can take tips from her younger brother, Louis, for birthdays in lockdown, as he celebrated his second birthday on 23 April.

And her great-grandmother also had to mark her 94th birthday in the closed doors of Windsor Castle, where she is self-isolating with Prince Philip.

Copyright: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. NEWS EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE. NO MERCHANDISING, ADVERTISING, SOUVENIRS, MEMORABILIA or COLOURABLY SIMILAR. NOT FOR USE AFTER 31st DECEMBER 2020, 2019, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM KENSINGTON PALACE. This photograph is provided to you strictly on condition that you will make no charge for the supply, release or publication of it and that these conditions and restrictions will apply (and that you will pass these on) to any organisation to whom you supply it. There shall be no commercial use whatsoever of the photographs (including by way of example only) any use in merchandising, advertising or any other non-news editorial use. The photographs must not be digitally enhanced, manipulated or modified in any manner or form and must include all of the individuals in the photograph when published. All other requests for use should be directed to the Press Office at Kensington Palace in writing. MANDATORY CREDIT: The Duchess of Cambridge. Undated handout photo taken by the Duchess of Cambridge of Princess Charlotte smelling a bluebell at their home in Norfolk in Spring 2019, which was referred to by the Duchess in the 'Happy Mum, Happy Baby' podcast with Giovanna Fletcher.
Charlotte smells a bluebell while on a walk with the Duchess last year. (Duchess of Cambridge)

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For Charlotte, there could be zoom calls and cake on the cards, as well as a countryside walk.

Kate talked to Mary Berry about her love of making cakes for their children, and so Charlotte may well have a home baked treat to wake up to on Saturday.

“It's become a bit of a tradition that I stay up 'til midnight with ridiculous amounts of cake mix and icing and I make far too much. But I love it,” Kate said last year.

And William said the royals were keeping up with grandparents via video calls while in lockdown, so Charlotte could get some virtual birthday wishes during the day.

She also seems to have an active streak, loving the chance to run around whenever she can, and playing football or racing her older brother.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 23: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince Louis of Cambridge clap for NHS carers as part of the BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief 'Big Night In at London on April 23, 2020 in London, England.The 'Big Night In' brings the nation an evening of unforgettable entertainment in a way we've never seen before. Raising money for and paying tribute to those on the front line fighting Covid-19 and all the unsung heroes supporting their communities. (Photo by Comic Relief/BBC Children in Need/Comic Relief via Getty Images)
The Cambridges have been clapping for carers each week. (Comic Relief/BBC Children in Need)

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Kate’s previously said she’s happiest when she’s outside with her family, so a spot of rain is unlikely to have bothered them.

Charlotte’s full title is Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge.

She was born at the private maternity Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, central London, at 8.34am on 2 May, 2015, weighing 8lb 3oz.

Kate is a keen amateur photographer and patron of the Royal Photographic Society. She regularly takes the official birthday photos of her children, including those of Prince Louis earlier this year.