Fans and members of the royal family have celebrated the Duchess of Cambridge's 40th birthday on social media, and one couple who was quick to share a birthday post on Sunday morning was the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
A series of beautiful photos were uploaded to Charles and Camilla's official Twitter and Instagram accounts. One poignant photo pictured Kate gazing over at her father-in-law, while a second showed the Duchess smiling alongside the Queen and Camilla wearing an elegant white suit jacket. The royals shared a third photo of Kate looking radiant in a maroon turtle neck jumper as her brunette curls framed her pretty features.
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The caption read: "Wishing The Duchess of Cambridge a very happy 40th birthday today!" The post was met with several comments from royal fans, also rushing to wish the Duchess a happy birthday.
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Kensington Palace also released an official portrait ahead of Kate's special day on Sunday, with three new stunning photographs showing the mother-of-three wearing gowns by Alexander McQueen and jewellery loaned to her by the Queen.
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It's not known where Kate is spending her birthday weekend, but she may have chosen to ring in her fifth decade at the Cambridges' country home in Norfolk, Anmer Hall, with her husband Prince William and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Given that Kate is incredibly close to her family, it's likely she'll have also spent the weekend with her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, as well as her siblings, James and Pippa, and their families. James is newly married to his French wife Alizee Thevenet, while Pippa shares two children, Arthur and Grace, with her husband James Matthews.
The photo was shared on the official Clarence House Instagram page
In honour of her birthday, HELLO! spoke exclusively to those who know Kate best, from royal insiders and friends, to charity representatives, who all revealed what the Duchess is really like behind closed doors.
One insider praised her dedication to royal life, saying: "She's got a very creative mind and she goes into meetings with those ideas fully formed. She's all over all the detail and very much part of the team. It's really exciting working with someone like that. It's not what you expect from a future Queen.
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"She's very focused – she always arrives with loads of notes and ideas and articles that she's seen, but she's very self-deprecating and funny too. She's had a bit more time in the last couple of years with the kids getting a bit older. She gets a lot out of it."
The royals pictured at the No Time To Die premiere last year
Another insider said: "She's really grateful for the opportunity she has to make a difference but she's had to take her time in charting her own path. She didn't rush for any short-term wins in those early years. She's just not motivated by that.
"She's not interested in day-to-day press coverage. She is very focused on the long term. She knows that her role is to be able to support William and the institution and her family for the long term. Decades, not years, not months, not quarterly cycles."
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