Royal Collection of the United Kingdom; PA WireSounds like a reality show: The Princesses of Cambridge.
As was the case with little Prince George of Cambridge, the title bestowed on Kate Middleton and Prince William's new daughter—Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Her Royal Highness Princess of Cambridge—has been held by others before.
In fact, Queen Elizabeth II's great-grandmother was also a Princess of Cambridge, just like her great-granddaughter! But let us start from the beginning, before the limbs of this lush family tree get too tangled...
King George III, who reigned from 1760 until his death in 1820, had two granddaughters who were both Princesses of Cambridge, sisters Augusta and Mary Adelaide.
Their father, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (like Prince William!) was George III's seventh son with wife Charlotte Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and their mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel.
Augusta, Princess of Cambridge, was actually born in Hanover, Germany, where her father was serving as a viceroy.
As was more of the fashion back in the 1800s, Augusta married her first cousin, Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (a match that baby Charlotte won't have to worry about) and they had two sons, although the first didn't survive infancy.
Just as Charlotte will probably do one day on her jaunts back from university, Augusta spent much of her life abroad, but would visit with her mother in her Kensington Palace apartments while in Britain. At the age of 16, she witnessed Queen Victoria's coronation and was later consulted about royal etiquette and other to-dos. Augusta ultimately lived till she was 94, becoming the longest living British Princess of the Royal Blood until Princess Alice, who died in 1977 at the age of 97.
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was 11 years younger than Augusta and, still unmarried at 30, took an assist from cousin Queen Victoria in the matchmaking department. Her pool of suitors limited to fellow royals (another thing baby Charlotte hopefully won't have to worry about), she ended up swapping vows with Prince Francis of Teck.
Francis had no hope of ascending the throne of the Kingdom of Württemberg and, interestingly, Mary Adelaide had to request his honorific from Victoria—who denied him the title of HRH, but eventually arranged for him to be "Highness." So, just H.
Mary Adelaide was both known for her expensive tastes and for being one of the first royals to be involved with philanthropic causes, a legacy that obviously has carried over to this day. She and Teck had four children, and daughter Princess Victoria Mary of Teck ultimately married George V and became queen when he ascended to the British throne in 1910. Their son was Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, as seen in The King's Speech, and the rest—actually, all—is history.