Princess Charlotte’s place in royal history is groundbreaking—her role as the so-called “spare” looks nothing like what we’ve seen before in the British monarchy.

At only ten years old, Princess Charlotte already holds a remarkable position in a transforming royal family.

A New Kind of ‘Spare’

Although Princess Charlotte’s daily life appears relatively normal for a royal child, her position as third in line to the throne makes her role especially distinctive.

“For the first time in British history, the spare is a princess, even though she has a younger brother,” explained historian Dr. Nige Fletcher in a new Channel 5 documentary, according to the Daily Mail.

“Princess Charlotte is in line after George, after a change in the law, and she now outranks her brother, Louis.”

This shift came from a landmark change in succession laws passed before Prince George’s birth in 2013, abolishing male primogeniture—the rule that once placed younger sons ahead of elder daughters in the line of succession.

In other words, if Charlotte had been born before George, she would have become queen. The law ensures that princesses now retain their place in the line, regardless of whether they have younger brothers.