"I think there will be a celebration, but I think it will be a celebration for family and for close friends," royal expert Kate Nicholl said.
To mark Kate Middleton's big day, Kensington Palace released three new portraits of the Duchess of Cambridge on January 8, 2022, ahead of Kate's 40th birthday on January 9. According to the Palace, the photos were taken in November at Kew Gardens by photographer Paolo Roversi, reports ET Online.
The new portraits are set to become part of the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, which is set to re-open in 2023. The portraits will be featured in the gallery's "Coming Home" project, which the palace calls "a nationwide initiative which sees portraits of well-known individuals being sent to locations which they are closely associated with." This way, communities across the UK will have an opportunity to view famous works locally.
Middleton looked absolutely stunning in all three pictures and she herself chose three destinations which she felt had a special meaning to her -- Berkshire in South England, St. Andrews in Scotland, and Anglesey, which is an island off the coast of Wales. The beautiful portraits are scheduled to appear at these locations later this year, and more details will be announced at a later time by the National Portrait Gallery.
As for the Duchess of Cambridge's birthday plans, royal expert Kate Nicholl said that she thinks Kate will have a low-key celebration.
"I think we are going to see the duchess celebrate her 40th -- it is a milestone birthday, it's an important birthday -- and I think there will be a celebration, but I think it will be a celebration for family and for close friends," Nicholl said. "There was talk of a big party which has apparently been downscaled because of COVID and because of the restrictions. But I suspect that Kate is probably happier having something a little bit more low-key. She had a big 21st birthday but I think that was the last big birthday that she really, really celebrated."
In fact, the occasion will be so low-key that Middleton might just bake her own cake for her birthday, adds Nicholl.
"I know that William sometimes gets in the kitchen, but really, Kate is the master chef and she's also brilliant at baking cake, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if she makes her own birthday cake," she says. "Cakes have always been a big tradition in the Middleton family and Kate has revealed how the nights before her children's birthdays, she is often up late into the night putting the final touches to a birthday cake."
Here's wishing the Duchess a very happy 40th birthday.
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Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Peter Morrison-Pool
