The sweet moment you missed between the Queen and Princess Charlotte in new royal portrait

Following the recent sad passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, members of the Royal Family have shared previously unseen personal photos of him, remembering him as a father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

One such image shows both the Duke and Queen Elizabeth posing in Balmoral (their Scottish residence) in 2015 with Prince William, his wife Kate Middleton and two of their adorable children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Given that the photo is a few years old and Charlotte wasn't born until the spring of that year, we can pretty safely say she's less than a year old in the photo – so super teeny tiny still.

While the photo is a wonderful family image in which everyone looks happy and relaxed to be spending time together, some royal fans couldn't help but notice that Her Majesty and Princess Charlotte are sharing an extra special moment together.

The Queen and the baby can clearly be seen looking directly at one another, ignoring the camera and those around them, and Her Majesty's face is completely lit up. How lovely!

Here's the image in full, shared on the Kensington Royal Instagram account:

And here's a closer look at the Queen and her granddaughter, Charlotte:

Other social media users also commented on the touching interaction between the Royal Family matriarch and the youngster, with one writing on Twitter: "This photo is all about HM the Queen and Princess Charlotte!"

Underneath the Kensington Royal Instagram post of the image, another royal fan commented saying, "Charlotte and Gran having a moment ❤️" while a further one added, "Love Princess Charlotte and Her Majesty smiling at each other! ❤️"

It's evident that even from an incredibly young age, the Princess and her great-granny have been especially fond of one another – a bond that has only strengthened over the years, even culminating in Charlotte's newfound love of all things equestrian, a trait she's no doubt inherited from the Queen.

In fact, it was previously reported that both Charlotte and her brother, Prince George, are expected to join the Queen for rides at Windsor and Balmoral after coronavirus restrictions have been lifted (making travelling outside of local areas a possibility).

Unfortunately, due to said COVID-related restrictions, Prince Philip's funeral (which will take place this Saturday) has been scaled down and can only accommodate thirty guests. With this in mind and because of their age, Princess Charlotte, along with both of her brothers – Prince George and Prince Louis – will not be in attendance.

Our thoughts are with the entire family during this very sad time.

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