December is a busy month for the royal family, but the Duchess of Cambridge has even more of a reason to celebrate come the new year.
Kate is set to mark her 40th birthday on 9 January and while the royal mum is notoriously low-key, no doubt the royal family and the Middletons will have something special planned for the milestone occasion.
For the Duchess' 30th birthday in 2012, it was revealed that Kate had a "quiet gathering with family and friends" with a palace aide adding: "The dinner was held within private quarters at one of the properties situated by their home at Kensington Palace."
WATCH: Prince William and Kate attend the Royal Variety Performance
And it's likely that the palace will release some new portraits of the Duchess, given the tradition to share images for special occasions. HELLO! previously spoke to photographer Chris Floyd, who took the stunning shots of the Cambridges to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary in April.
"We just had a really nice time. We came together for the duration of the shoot and within five minutes, I was just able to be myself. I think they were themselves as well," he says.
"And in that time, they were just another pair of people that I was photographing. I just forgot where I was and who I was with and I was just photographing a couple, who in this case, were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. There was no one else around, it was just me and them, and we had a really great time."
MORE: 10 chic coats Kate Middleton could totally wear to host Christmas carols at Westminster Abbey
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Duchess usually celebrates her birthday privately
Kate is the eldest child of Carole and Michael Middleton's three children, including Pippa and James Middleton.
Born in 1982 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, the future royal grew up in Bucklebury, with the Middletons living in Jordan for two years during Kate's early childhood, when her father worked for British Airways.
Prince William met his future wife at the University of St Andrews in Scotland in 2001 and after seven years of dating, the pair announced their engagement in November 2010.
William and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in April 2011 and welcomed Prince George in 2013, followed by Princess Charlotte two years later, and Prince Louis in 2018.
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