Kate Middleton can finally enjoy her birthday cancer-free after the Princess of Wales shrugged off the disease in ninth months to win her life back, but will she be free of any disruption from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?
The 42-year-old shocked the world when she revealed she was battling the condition after mysteriously vanishing from the public eye, as she begged for privacy for both herself and her family.
But in September she emotionally revealed she had completed her chemotherapy and began her reintegration into royal life, gradually increasing her appearances and interactions with her subjects until her first public face-to-face over the Christmas period at Sandringham.
Now she turns her attention to the New Year and then her 43rd birthday on January 9 and an insider explains how this is going to be very important to her after the torrid 2024 she had to endure.
“This birthday is going to be memorable in so many ways,” an ex-BBC reporter, Jennie Bond, told OK!. “It will mark the start of a new and hopefully happier year, and the end of one that has been brutal for the whole family.
“While some women might find the prospect of turning 43 a bit daunting, Catherine will, I am sure, be delighted that she is able to enjoy her birthday in comparatively good health, though of course she is still recovering.
“Every day must now be extra precious for the Princess, and every birthday a cause for grateful celebration.”
Since they decided to step down from their roles as senior members of the family in 2020, both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have always found a way to stay in the headlines, either through controversy or by chance.
That includes their interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry‘s memoir and reports of a divorce throughout 2024 as well as the usual circulations of their estrangements from King Charles III and Prince William, his successor who is also Harry’s brother and Middleton’s husband.
Bond suggests that whilst Kate will be taking a new approach to her own celebration, there could be worry that the Sussexes might end up overshadowing the day somehow by pointing out recent drama from them usually came in the first weeks of January.
“I’m sure Catherine’s new perspective on everything will include her own birthday. As a healthy young woman, her forties would normally have held no fear for her,” Bond added. “But her past few birthdays have all been rather overshadowed by events.
“Harry and Meghan announcing they were stepping back from royal duties on 8 January, 2020, then Harry releasing his book, Spare, on 10 January, 2023. And this time last year, the Princess must have been anxious.
“And probably in pain – as she geared up for her planned abdominal surgery which took place a few days after her 42nd birthday. That, of course, was followed by the shock of her cancer diagnosis, so this will be the perfect opportunity to celebrate.”
