Heavy is the head that wears the crown, meaning that Prince George will have some hefty duties weighing on his shoulders in the decades to come. But for the time being, George isn’t the sibling ruling over the royal household.

Per The Mirror, Queen Elizabeth once revealed which of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children had the most influence over their family, and age (and line of succession) has nothing to do with it. Though George will be the one to inherit the crown and Prince Louis has the advantage of being the youngest, it’s actually Princess Charlotte that runs the show.

Back in 2018, Elizabeth gifted a young girl, Emily Clay, a signed bible. During their conversation, the queen sweetly asked if Clay “looked after” her younger sister Hadleigh, to which the girl’s mother responded, “It’s the other way around.” Shedding some like on the the royal children’s dynamic with each other, Elizabeth responded, “It’s like that with Charlotte and George,” according to Town & Country.

A year earlier in 2017, Middleton admitted that Charlotte wears the pants in the Wales household during an event with fellow mom Samantha Burge. “[The Duchess] said that Charlotte is growing up really fast. She is the one in charge,” Burge revealed. “We have both got two-year-olds and they are ruling the roost. It was a bit of a mummy chat.”

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond also told OK! back in 2023 that the princess has a firm grasp on who she is, but will look to her elders as role models in the coming years.

“Charlotte strikes me as quite a confident young lady but, with two brothers, she will no doubt be looking to her mother and other women in the family as role models—from her great-grandmother the Queen to her own mum [Kate],” Bond said. “All three children have a claim to think of themselves as pretty special to their parents: George because he is the heir, Charlotte because she’s the only girl, and Louis because he’s the youngest. Charlotte is reaching the age when she can really appreciate her mother’s sense of style and they can share ‘girlie’ moments together. Catherine also provides the perfect role model for how to behave as a senior member of the royal family.”