It was a big day for the Cambridge family as Princess Charlotte started nursery school.
Charlotte’s mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, took these photos of her on the front steps of Kensington Palace shortly before school.
The formal photo of Prince George on his first day of school was also taken on the Palace steps.
As many will remember, Charlotte is attending Willcocks Nursery School. 
The school is quite close to Kensington Palace, described as being a 5-minute walk from the Cambridge’s London home. William and Kate released a statement along with the photos:
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace this morning. The images were taken by The Duchess shortly before Princess Charlotte left for her first day of nursery at the Willcocks Nursery School.”
More about Willcocks Nursery from a Daily Telegraph story:
The Princess’s preschool in a church hall behind the Royal Albert Hall is described by Tatler as “a hidden gem”.
As well as the key teachers, who are all female, there is a French teacher, a sports teacher and a music teacher.
Back to Anna Tyzack’s Telegraph story:
Charlotte will be expected to look her teacher in the eye and shake her hand when she arrives and again when she leaves. She will be reminded to say please and thank you and will have to help tidy up.
A People story also offers insight into the choice of school:
A royal source tells PEOPLE, “They chose that nursery because they thought it would be an ideal first step for Charlotte’s education and they were impressed by the team who work there.”
Some will recall that Kate also took the photos of Prince George on his first day of school back in January 2016.
To say Charlotte looked darling would be an understatement.
The Princess is wearing a coat by Amaia Kids, the Razorbill style in burgundy. A big thank you to Laura on Twitter (@SolidMoonlight) for her speedy ID of Charlotte’s coat. The coat is a classic style in boiled wool, a lightweight but warm material. It is a double-breasted style with pocket flaps, deep cuffs, heraldic buttons, and a decorative tab on the back.
Amaia confirms this is the piece and has made more inventory available on their website. Here is a better look at the button and pocket details.
The style is also offered in grey and pink (£120, about $165).
Prince George wore a boiled wool piece from Amaia Kids to the Queen’s annual Christmas lunch this year, as well as last year.
Royal favorite Doña Carmen confirms Charlotte is wearing their Mary Jane with hard sole style in maroon. The leather shoes are made in Spain and have an anti-skid rubber sole. They retail for €29.95, that is roughly $35 at today’s exchange rate. 
You might remember Charlotte wearing Doña Carmen during the Canada tour.
As well as at Trooping the Colour in June and Germany in July.
The shoes often have a distinctive sole that helps identify them.
Charlotte’s hair ribbon is also by Amaia Kids, they tell me she is wearing the Medium size. I forgot to verify the color (hangs head in shame) but think it looks more like the red than the rust color. If guessing, I would say the tights Charlotte is wearing are likely another Condor for Amaia Kids pair, they are similar in color to the chestnut color. UPDATE JAN 9: In its story, People magazine writes that the tights are stone. I am going to email for verification, but went ahead and updated the graphic.
Kate J. suggests on the Facebook page that Charlotte’s scarf is from a Marie Chantal gift set and I believe she is correct. Not only do the pattern and color match, but the tag is also the same as well.
The piece does not appear to have been sold separately, only as part of a Marie Chantal gift set featuring pink cashmere items (£455). The set below is for baby girls.
Marie Chantel offers a collection of luxury children’s merchandise. It was founded by Princess Marie-Chantal, wife of Crown Prince Pavlos, the eldest son of King Constantine II of Greece.
Charlotte also is carrying a backpack, a Cath Kidston style. Another ‘thank you’ is in order, this one to Rachel on the WKKW Facebook page for her speedy ID of the item, as well as Princess Estelle Attire on Twitter, a whiz with children’s styles; she shared the info shortly after Rachel. We’re fortunate to have so much help from people far (far!) better versed in childrenswear and accessories than I could ever dream of being.
This is the Pink Pony pattern and the style features a front pocket, two-way zipper, and adjustable padded shoulder straps in a polka dot pattern. Here is a closer look at the pattern, which is cute. Kate has spoken about Charlotte being fond of horses, so perhaps the little one picked this out…? The piece appears to be sold out everywhere; I’ve not been able to find the backpack available at any retailers or on eBay.
UPDATE JAN 9: Here is more about the pattern from a People story, quoting a Cath Kidston statement :
“Unfortunately, this was part of our Spring/Summer 17 range and is no longer available. However, we do have a similar product launching as part of our Spring/Summer 18 collection, which will land in stores and online on January 15th. The new print is called ‘Prancing Ponies’ and will feature across a range of kids products, including backpacks.”
Kate has chosen Cath Kidston childrenswear before; in photos released just before Christmas 2014, Prince George wore a vest by the British heritage brand.
Thank you to everyone who helped identify things, on Twitter and Facebook and via email & direct messages. It really is a delight to have such knowledgeable input and assistance, and it certainly helps get the blog posts published more quickly. As someone without children, I might never find pieces that many of you have so generously shared information on.
We’ll leave you with the three most recent pictures of Charlotte.
I’m in sync with the thoughts of Vanity Fair’s Josh Duboff on the photos:
Let these photos—what with the absurdly cold weather, and general malaise of this time of year—provide a moment of uplift.
It is a treat to have new photos of the Princess.
Hello, have you gotten veritification yet on the tights? They look like Chestnut, yet in the lighting they also look like Stone. Please let me know. Thank you!
I will update as soon as I hear back, Cara! 🙂
Just received the Stone tights in the mail. I would definitely say that they are the ones Charlotte is wearing. The red bow is so adorable as well. 🙂
The coat was also made in Spain by a clothing company called Marae, and sold in the UK by Amaiakids (also owned by a spaniard, Amaia Arrieta). It has been published today in El Pais,a spanish newspaper.
Love your posts!
Thank you, Elena! 🙂
Does her school have a dress code like Prince George’s does? Princess Charlotte seems so grown up perhaps because she has been taught.
Is it usual for a 2.5 year old to wear such a dressy outfit to preschool in England? I know the English tend to be better dressed than we Yanks, but thought it was strange for this occasion – especially since George seemed to wear a casual jacket to his first day of pre-school.
I suspect what is underneath is less dressy, but private prep (& pre prep) schools in England have fairly formal uniforms, though not the nurseries.
I live near there & KP and if you look at Wetherby (which Prince William & Harry attended) or Pembridge Villas a girl’s school next to it they have very traditional uniforms. Including a coat that wouldn’t be too dissimilar to this.
St Thomas’ uniform is very informal for a private prep school in London
Lovely post, thank you! Everyone keeps making the comparison to the Queen, but am I the only one who sees a very healthy dose of Carole Middleton in there too?
Charlotte looks very cute and very proud and happy to be going to “school”. I love the cute coat and the pink scarf with it. Does look like red dress/skirt under the coat either velvet or or a fine wale corduroy fabric. The brown tights may be a slightly different color in person. I suspect Charlotte is given choices in what to wear and she opted for the brown tights and maybe even the pink scarf out of a couple of color options. Suspect after the first exciting few days she will quickly start wearing more casual clothes to school. Although my once little girl wore dresses at least as often as pants to nursery school. Her dresses were sometimes the more dressy style but mainly the Hanna Andersson brand of cotton great for play dresses and skirts and tops.
After sending numerous messages out and feeling like I’d never get my hands on this scarf… I’ve been successful. I was able to purchase the LAST scarf from a Marie Chantal set that wasn’t over $400+. I am so proud. haha It’s IDENTICAL to this and is also the same brand & cashmere so I’m basically 100% sure that it’s what Charlotte is wearing. 🙂 Yay! I even counted the braiding and sections to make sure. It’s the staple piece in the outfit … It makes the whole look come together.
Holy cow, good for you! I hope you’ll let us know if it is as soft and snuggly as it looks. (It looks like it is peaking the Snuggle-o-Meter in the red zone!) 🙂
Do you have a daughter around Charlotte’s age? Lucky you, the scarf is gorgeous!!
It looks like maroon is going to be a default colour for Charlotte, someone is clearly buying it for her on regular basis. They don’t have school uniforms at such an early school, do they? That is one beautiful coat and definitely fit for a princess. And there seems to be a glimpse of a pink-ish skirt underneath.
I’m not so keen on the colour of the tights but, hey ho, we’re not talking cat-walk fashion here. And clearly a Pink Pony backpack doesn’t add élan, but it at least indicates Charlotte herself may have had a say in the choosing of it.
Brilliant work on all these IDs, I can’t believe the scarf has been tracked down as well, just amazing. And cashmere is very nice on a cold morning. I’m glad the little bow can move further back out of sight as Charlotte’s hair grows longer, it looks a tad less babyish. And thanks for that tip about the distinctive Carmen shoe soles
But the thing that strikes me most is how grown-up Charlotte looks! I can’t get over her camera poses – has she been studying the gossip columns? I wouldn’t put it past her! It’s that knowing tilt of the head in her seated pose and the slightly crooked right leg placed forward – pure Victoria Beckham!! – that leave no doubt of her clear intelligence and developing character.
Wonderful photos by Kate.
She really does look very poised, doesn’t she? Cute as can be. 🙂
??❤
There’s less than a month age difference in the center and right photo (of the 3 lower horizontal photos)….from toddler to young lady in the blink of 3 weeks. I’m hopeful this munchkin is a delight.
I thought she looked full of personality even in the car. Her hair may have grown in that time of course, in both cases having the now towards the back of the head is a touch more mature 🙂
Scarf looks identical to a previous season Marlie Chantal 100% cashmere one my daughter has
Thank you, Lucy!!! 🙂
Adorable. And OMG – she looks like a mini-Queen Elizabeth!
The link for the shoes is not the same as what Charlotte is wearing. The link takes you to a red shoe with a red sole and red buckle.
Thank you for the info, I changed the link, hopefully this one works well for you. Let me know if you have any problems! 🙂
Thank you.
🙂
This just melted my heart – Has to be the sweetest, most darling way to start a Monday morning! I love that scarf and the cute Cath Kidston bag! She growing up so quickly. 🙂
https://www.jabong.com/cath-kidston-Pony-Powder-Pink-School-Bag-300038868.html?pos=1&cid=CA362BG85OHJINDFAS
This is the standard size of the backpack, not the medium which Charlotte has. Looks similar but isn’t the exact same. :/
Scarf has a tag sticking out of it, hard to identify what it says because KP didn’t really post super high quality pics like they usually do!!
How very special. With photos of the children released sparingly, there is such a difference/growth change between events…including 3 weeks ago! Thrilled DoC was able to enjoy “this” first day – smiles everywhere.
She’s wearing something red inside.. a red dress… velvety kind of.
Thank you, I had not noticed that! 🙂
I definitely think it is the RED bow. Also, the scarf is so hard to find. Still looking!
Thank you for the help!! 🙂