Perfect poise! Lady Sarah Chatto seen at a dance class aged 10 in pictures taken by her father Lord Snowdon – as the royal is named president of the Royal Ballet School

This month she followed in her late mother’s footsteps and was announced as the new president of the Royal Ballet School.

Lady Sarah Chatto, 60, takes on the role almost 70 years after the late Princess Margaret became president of the prestigious institution in 1956.

But her new role is far from a formality, as Lady Sarah takes after her mother as a lover of dance and ballet.

Beautiful photographs taken by her photographer father Lord Snowdon in October 1974 (when Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones was 10 years old) show her enjoying a ballet class.

The Daily Mail wrote at the time that the young royal, dressed in tights and smart ballet shoes, had lessons every Monday evening in Hammersmith, west London.

Lady Sarah, pictured above at Royal Ascot earlier this month, was recently appointed the new president of the Royal Ballet School

For the photo-op, Lady Sarah had the best teacher any little girl could imagine: dance icon and founder of the Royal Ballet School Dame Ninette de Valois.

Dame Ninette was seen testing Lady Sarah by placing her arms and legs in the correct positions.

The Mail’s report said: ‘After the personal lesson, Dame Ninette handed the young dancer over to former Royal Ballet dancer Nora Roche.

‘Princess Margaret, who was also a young ballet dancer, did not have to encourage her daughter to go to lessons. She loves to dance.

‘But before the lessons start, the shoes must first be tied properly. That’s no easy task with all that pink ribbon around the little ankles.

‘But it’s all worth it. Miss Roche teaches Lady Sarah for an hour every week. An hour of lessons that Lady Sarah has been waiting for all week…’

Lady Sarah Chatto (left) seen at a ballet class in Hammersmith, West London, in 1974. The photo was taken by her father, the Earl of Snowdon

Dame Ninette de Valois corrects Lady Sarah’s posture during her lesson with the dancing icon

Lady Sarah with her mother Princess Margaret, father Lord Snowdon and brother David in 1974

Lady Sarah takes a photo with her father in Windsor in 1978

Lady Sarah being presented with a nosegay by dance students when she was Vice-President of the Royal Ballet School, 2009

The October 1974 Daily Mail report revealing Lady Sarah’s ballet class

Lady Sarah took on the role of president of the Royal Ballet School after King Charles stepped down from his position and became patron.

She previously served as vice president since 2004.

During her tenure as president, Princess Margaret regularly attended performances by both students from the school and professionals from the Royal Ballet Company.

Lady Sarah, Princess Margaret’s only daughter, has long been a champion of the arts.

Her interest was partly sparked by her late father. He and Margaret divorced in 1978 – when Lady Sarah was 14 – after 18 years of marriage.

Lady Sarah studied at Camberwell School of Art and then the Royal Academy Schools.

She spent two years with her father in India, where he worked as a photographer on the 1984 film A Passage to India.

The royal family has long been a respected artist and her work is regularly displayed in exhibitions and at the Redfern Gallery in London.