The Princess of Wales will turn 44 years old in a week, on January 9th. People Magazine already ran a story about how Kate will spend her birthday like she always does, privately and with her family. I imagine Kate and the kids headed off for a ski holiday right after Christmas, but nothing has been confirmed. One thing is for sure, Kensington Palace’s staffers have been busy little bees over the holidays. There’s been keen story after keen story. When Kate turned 40 in 2022, we were given weeks of birthday coverage about Kate being the most perfect princess ever, someone who could practically walk on water, and then towards the end of the birthday keenery, they were like “but she’s still not going to work much.” Well, KP organized some birthday keenery for Kate’s 44th, and this piece in the Times is the first one in what will likely be a series over the next week. It’s basically the same energy as her 40th. Some highlights:

Kate’s always losing her phone: The Princess of Wales has a habit of losing her phone. She has misplaced it so often around the house that it has become a running joke and her Christmas presents often feature various gadgets to keep it to hand.

In 2020, Kate spoke to Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast: It helped that William was behind the scenes to lend a hand. “Thankfully, Prince William came into the room and he said, ‘Just talk.’ ” It wasn’t live and he reasoned that they could always cut bits later on. His wife took his advice and the tea grew cold in front of them as a 45-minute chat became a 90-minute, no-holds-barred interview.

The Early Years: Soon after, Kate set up the Centre for Early Childhood at the Royal Foundation she shares with Prince William. Described by aides as “her life’s work”, it’s designed as an antidote to adult problems in society by looking at ways to get lives off to the best start at the very beginning. Explaining the mission, a source close to the princess reveals, “She often says, ‘People think I’m doing this because I’m a mother, but actually it’s not just about children. It’s about adults.’ ”

Kate’s cancer changed her: Those close to the princess point to her life-changing experience of cancer as a driver for her to share what she has learnt. “On a very human level, if you go through an experience like this, it changes you,” says a source who has known William and Kate for decades. “And it can change you for the good. At heart, they’re both good, proper people. While you’d never wish it upon them, it’s made them stronger as a couple and stronger as individuals, with probably more wisdom than they had before. When your kids are young, you just barrel forward at great pace and everything is just about the growth of the family. And with this, you know, it’s the obvious cliché, but it sort of stops you in your tracks.”

The Mother’s Day frankenphoto: In March 2024, Kate recorded a video to tell the public that cancer had been found following major abdominal surgery earlier that year. She was seen sitting alone on a bench in the grounds at Windsor, putting an end to increasingly lurid speculation online about her condition. A fortnight beforehand, a Mother’s Day picture was released of Kate with the children, which had been meant to reassure the public, but only served to add grist to the gossip mill when it emerged that she had edited elements of the photograph. Behind the scenes, sources say, she had only wanted to do a nice thing with the best of intentions, but it backfired spectacularly.

Kate’s fashion: In 2025, the princess lost the services of Natasha Archer, her senior private executive assistant, who left the palace to set up her own consultancy. Having been by the princess’s side for 15 years, it was seen as a huge loss, but aides are quick to remind me that Kate does not have a stylist. Instead, she is said to be “very much in control” of her own sartorial choices. These were seen most memorably at the last three state banquets hosted by the royal family.

The Wales brand: If there’s one thing that William and Kate understand perhaps better than anyone else in the royal family, it’s the value of their own brand. “While it may seem a completely ridiculous comparison, it reminds me a bit of dear old David and Victoria Beckham,” a well-placed source says. “I think the public can spot a genuine relationship and a genuinely strong marriage and two people who fit well together. How strong they are individually, but also as a couple. And I think that’s probably a great asset.”

Raising a future king: Motherhood is daunting enough, but the stakes are even higher when you’re raising a king. She does, I’m told, feel the pressure to “get it right”. It’s why the school runs and sporting fixtures are important, as is time with grandparents Carole and Michael Middleton. He is also used to helping on errands, with one Windsor local recalling how they once bumped into a young Prince George at a soft furnishings shop where he was happily eating orange segments while granny Carole picked up fabric samples.

William & Kate’s future plans: Life looks secure at Windsor, with Kate’s parents not far away. I’m told they have no plans to relocate to Buckingham Palace when William becomes king. Some of the neighbours leave a little to be desired, though. William’s uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be moving out this year, having finally been forced out of Royal Lodge for a windswept cottage on the Sandringham estate. In the whole sorry saga, William was often painted as the tough guy urging his father to put his foot down. This image of ruthless William was, I’m told, wide of the mark. If anything, William was deeply concerned for his uncle’s mental health and how Andrew would cope after everything was taken away. Nevertheless, William realised that while Andrew had always denied any wrongdoing, he supported his father’s decision to strip Andrew of his royal titles. Kate, in turn, supported her husband in the matter.

The Waleses & the Sussexes: There’s also the issue of other former neighbours, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who vacated Frogmore Cottage nearly six years ago. Prince Harry is not in contact with William. After repeatedly taking aim at his brother and sister-in-law, it’s hardly surprising that William and Kate would rather focus on raising their own family. There was a sense of weary inevitability in William’s camp when Harry decided to announce a trip to Canada for “remembrancetide” at the start of his brother’s official visit to Brazil. If Kate has learnt anything from her cancer ordeal and the teachings of Robert Waldinger, however, she’ll know that life’s far too short to get hung up on Harry.

[From The Times]

Comparing William and Kate to the Beckhams is WILD!! A philanderer whose wife simply turns a blind eye? I mean… yikes. But Brand Beckham is very strong, while Brand Wales is… um, pretty weak. The stuff about losing Natasha Archer and Kate acting as her own stylist is still so interesting – there’s such inconsistency in Kate’s messaging about fashion, especially when she goes through periods where she demands that people stop talking about her fashion and she apparently complains bitterly about people talking about her copykeening style. As for the mention of the Sussexes, lmao. Harry was invited to support Canadian veterans around Remembrance Day. It’s not Harry’s fault that William scheduled his Brazil trip for the week before Remembrance Day. It’s also not Harry’s fault that William was too jet-lagged and/or lazy to attend the Festival of Remembrance.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.