With Princess Charlotte celebrating her 10th birthday on Friday, a royal expert has explained how the young royal is living a completely different life from how her father was at the same age. At the age of 10, Prince William had been living away from home for two years as he was boarding at Ludgrove School.

His home life was also difficult, as his parents's volatile marriage was at breaking point - and they would ultimately announce their separation just six months after William turned 10. In stark contrast, Charlotte and her two brothers all attend nearby Lambrook School as day pupils and are afforded as much privacy as their royal status allows.

They are also being bolstered by a wonderfully happy upbringing and have parents whose marriage is based on love, rather than suitability.

While everything the Princess of Wales has learned from her studies of early years development will have played a crucial role in governing the way Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are being raised, a determination to give his children a different upbringing from his own will have been at the forefront of Prince William’s mind.

“William's upbringing could hardly have been much more different when he turned 10,” royal author Duncan Larcombe exclusively tells The Express. “He'd been away at boarding school for a couple of years, his mum and dad's relationship was in total tatters and although Diana was incredibly protective and very loving towards William, the family dynamic was just so different from what Charlotte is experiencing now.

“She's got a mum and dad who are in love with each other and support each other in everything they do. William and Kate clearly made a decision very early on when they had children that they weren't going to pack them off to boarding school, certainly until they're older and they might have to.

"So it's a tight-knit family unit that contrasts quite tragically with the way that William would have been feeling when he was 10 years old.”

Duncan's view is echoed by Ingrid Seward, Editor-in-Chief of Majesty Magazine, who told the Mirror: "At the same age William was very sensitive and increasingly weighed down by his royal status. The sight of a camera made him uncomfortable.

"He became withdrawn and always kept his head well down. He was a boarder at Ludgrove School and had started to make friends, but when he was out and about, he became moody and difficult."