Secret Instagram accounts of the young royals reveal they know how to party

They’re all curtsies and kid gloves in public, but these young royals really know how to party.

Oh Kate, how we have missed you!

Not Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge whose days are a steady stream of precisely choreographed visits to children’s charities and stopping Prince George trying to knight the labradors when the nanny isn’t looking.

But Kate, the Countess of Kicking On who for a number of glorious years in the mid-naughties could be reliably found stumbling out of Mahiki or Bouji’s in the early hours, after a night of $70 cocktails and hitting the dance floor with Pippa and a steady stream of Boden-loving chums.

Kate and Pippa on a night out back in the day. Picture: Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic

On Friday, it was THIS Kate who made a rare appearance, with the now mum-of-three trading a night of PJ Mask re-runs to don a $3742 Alexander McQueen frock (in red, natch) to kick up her heels at her sister’s $30 million Chelsea mansion.

Kate was there to celebrate her mother Carol’s 64th birthday (Wills was a no-show — let’s assume he decided to stay in to do a scalp masque and catch up on Antique Biplanes magazine).

Sure, the occasion wasn’t exactly the sort of party where Harry might turn up dressed as a U-boat captain or Luftwaffe Colonel but it was still a wonderful, albeit brief, reminder that the royals love nothing more than a good knees up.

While back in Princess Margaret’s day when the public was forced to rely on fourth-hand accounts and scurrilous rumours (generally true) printed in the tabloids of aristocratic and royal shenanigans, we are lucky enough to live in an age when we can rely on the glory of Instagram to give us a peek behind the mahogany doors.

THEY LOVE GETTING FROCKED UP

Ah, the chance to take off your muddy corduroys from all that tramping through fields while shooting pheasant to don Grandmama’s tiara or your favourite tails! The reigning queen of black tie must be Lady Kitty Spencer, Princess Diana’s niece and Harry and Wills’ cousin, though a close second is Lady Amelia Windsor, "It" girl and granddaughter of the Duke of Kent.

DRINK UP

Gin and Dubonnet anyone? If there is one thing the extended Windsor clan is known for, it is their deep-seated love for all things booze-related. So much so, Charles and Camilla reportedly cart their own gin around with them when they travel overseas. (Sure, it’s theoretically for security purposes …)

Kate’s favourite tipple back in her Bouji days was their “Crack Baby” cocktail, a concoction that involves vodka, champagne, passionfruit and raspberry liquor. Wills, meanwhile, is said to like a beer while Harry — pre-his green juice swilling regimen — loved a cheeky vodka Red Bull.

A-LIST PALS ESSENTIAL

Sure, you’re never alone when you have a retinue of servants milling around you but sometimes it’s nice to leave the palace to down a champers or seven with your mates who of course are royal/celebrities/billionaires.

GET DOWN ON THE DANCEFLOOR

When you have finally been released from a long day of opening a remote naval unit or admiring Prince Andrew’s pics from his last questionable trip to Kazakhstan, it’s time to work up a bit of a sweat.

ALWAYS (ALWAYS) HAVE A GOOD TIME

And why shouldn’t you? You are young, cashed up and don’t have to go to Balmoral again for 11 months.

BE PREPARED TO TRAVEL ANY DISTANCE FOR FUN

Sure, it is only a six-minute drive from Kensington Palace to Mahiki in Mayfair but the lure of a good party is such that the royals and their extended clan of party pals will jump on the next flight out of Heathrow if there is a killer bash to attend. You do only fly first, don’t you?

— Daniela Elser is a freelance writer and contributor, continue the conversation @DanielaElser