Kate Middleton is marking a milestone today, and while the occasion is a royal one, the celebration itself is expected to be anything but over-the-top.
The Princess of Wales is celebrating her 44th birthday today, January 9, and the day will likely be spent in a relaxed, family-focused way. According to former royal butler Grant Harrold, who recently shared insights with Heart Bingo, birthdays within the royal household tend to favor privacy over spectacle.
Rather than a grand affair, Mr Harrold suggested the Princess may enjoy a quiet dinner with her closest family members. Prince William and Princess Kate are well known for prioritising time with their children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis — and often opt for understated moments away from the public eye.
“All royal birthdays are celebrated in some shape and form, even if the birthdays aren't big celebrations,” Mr Harrold explained. Reflecting on his time working for the King, he added that birthdays were typically marked with a discreet, private meal rather than a large family gathering or lavish event.
The Princess made a surprise appearance at Charing Cross Hospital yesterday to show support for under pressure NHS staff
She was alongside with her husband Prince William on Thursday as they carried out their first public engagement of 2026.
This morning, she said she has spent winter reflecting on how “deeply grateful” she is, in the final instalment of Kensington Palace’s quarterly Mother Nature series.
In a video posted on social media, Kate said: “Even in the coldest, darkest season, winter has a way of bringing us stillness, patience and quiet consideration.
The video was accompanied by a personal post signed with a C, which read: “The Mother Nature series has been a deeply personal, creative reflection on how nature has helped me heal. But it is also a story about the power of nature and creativity in collective healing.
“There is so much we can learn from mother nature, as we look to build a happier, healthier world. C”
But while the princess has lived a very public life since she joined The Firm, she had a very full time as a relative unknown. This is her pre-royal story.
Who was Kate before marriage to Prince William?
Her family has gentry ties but is not of royal stock
Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on January 9, 1982, in Reading but attended an English language nursery school in Jordan – where the family lived while her father worked for British Airways.
Michael Middleton worked as a flight dispatcher and has aristocratic heritage while his wife and Kate’s mother Carole can trace her family tree back to the Queen Mother.
Kate was the oldest of three, her sister Pippa was born in 1983 and brother James was born in 1987. The former has three children and James has one.
The Middletons made a fortune in the party business
Kate was five when her parents left the airline industry and started on a new venture, making party bags. Party Pieces quickly became profitable and paid for the three children to attend the prestigious Marlborough College, according to the Independent.
Kate is said to have found life tough at the independent boarding school, says the Mirror.
But she was a top student and also a keen hockey player, as well as a good all-round track and field athlete – her 1.50m high jump clearance was enough for a school record.
Gary Goldsmith claims his niece was ‘common’ before meeting William
Kate had the nickname of “Squeak” growing up, which owed its origin to a pair of pet guinea pigs that she and Pippa owned as children.
“There was one called Pip and one called Squeak, so my sister was called Pip and I was Squeak,” she later said on a visit to her old school.
Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith, a figure who has become tabloid fodder for his Ibiza lifestyle and Celebrity Big Brother appearance, said she was from “humble stock”.
She took a cool gap year but had a tough decision over university
Kate could have started at St Andrews University in 2000 but, to somewhat discredit her uncle’s claim that she is not posh, took a gap year to Chile with Raleigh International.
During her late teens, she helped her parents with the party bag business as a salesperson and also modelled for the catalogue.
At university, she studied psychology in a joint honours before choosing to focus solely on art history, while she also worked part-time as a waitress.
William made a beeline for her at a party
Kate led an active social life, co-founding a drinking club and also becoming part of a social group called The Glossy Posse, according to Royals at War.
Standard royal reporter Robert Jobson said in his book on Kate’s years at the Fife university that she met her future husband at a party. He wrote: “She arrived dressed as a nurse and William made a beeline for her.”
The pair were said to have been in a relationship since 2003, having been friends for most of their time while studying.
They broke up… and got back together
Mr Jobson said in the book that William had shocked the Middleton family by cancelling plans with them in early 2007, with the pair then agreeing to spend time apart.
"We did split up for a bit, but that was just, you know, we were both very young,” William is quoted as saying in a Marca article. “It was at university, and we were both finding ourselves as such and being different characters."
They were not apart for long and their relationship was back on track within months, with the pair appearing together in 2008 for William’s Royal Air Force graduation.
Pre-marriage, she lived with her sister, Pippa
Post-university, Kate pursued a career in buying and marketing in London.
She was not quite living in Buckingham Palace, but the £1.8m flat she shared with Pippa in Chelsea was not a pauper’s living.
Then, in November 2010, we were treated to the news: “The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton.”
The pair married in 2011 and the rest is history
And, of course, Kate and William tied the knot on April 23, 2011.
Three children later, the family is gearing up to enjoy Kate’s 44th birthday celebrations.
William will hit that birthday himself in June, being six months’ younger than his wife.
