London - With a skip and a wave, little Princess Charlotte almost stole the show as she and her brother, Prince George, arrived to meet their baby brother for the first time.
While George, four, still dressed in his school uniform, appeared shy and slightly intimidated by the waiting cameras, two year-old Charlotte had no such qualms.
The youngster normally attends Willcocks nursery close to Kensington Palace. However, on Monday she had waited at home with her nanny, Maria Borallo, all day before heading for the hospital.
Charlotte was dressed in an appropriately - blue for a boy' summer frock with her hair pulled back off her face in a matching bow, ankle-length socks and navy blue round-toed shoes with a strap across the top.
The princess, who will celebrate her third birthday on May 2, wore a £45 (about R750) Periwinkle dress from Little Alice London, a label owned by Alice Avenel, a friend of Kate's from their time at Marlborough College.
Picture: Reuters
Formerly Alice St John Webster, she married Gerald Avenel, a French banker, in 2012, and both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton attended the wedding.
Although she has been seen in public on barely a handful of occasions, cheeky Charlotte, two, appears to be a born performer.
As she got out of the family car, William whispered to her to give the waiting media a wave and she was more than eager to oblige, her face lit up by a sweet little smile.
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In fact, as she skipped along the pavement outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, balancing on her toes - like all little girls who long to be ballet dancers - she couldn't stop smiling and interacting with the cameras.
Even as the family group walked up the familiar stone steps into the Lindo Wing, there was still time for a last cheeky little look over her shoulder and another dimpled grin and wave.
Picture: AP
Charlotte and her big brother stayed for around 20 minutes, getting to know their little brother, before leaving via a back door away from public view.
They were driven home by staff for tea at Kensington Palace, while they waited for their mother and father to re-join them. As he left, William said the children had been "very excited, delighted" to meet their baby brother.