Royal family wishes Kate Middleton on birthday

Claire Toureille

London: The royal family have wished the Duchess of Cambridge a happy birthday on their social media accounts – highlighting the strong bond Kate Middleton shares with the Queen and Prince Charles in a series of touching photographs.

The birthday posts to mark the Duchess of Cambridge celebrating turning 40 today even carried some emojis – with balloons and cake featuring in the messages from on @theroyalfamily and @clarencehouse accounts.

Images shared on the Royal Family’s Instagram early this morning focused on Kate’s warm relationship with the Queen and senior royals – showing a collection of photos from public engagements over the last decade.

Two of the three images taken by photographer Paolo Roversi to mark the Duchess’ 40th also made it to the @theroyalfamily’s Instagram stories.

Kate responded to a nation’s well wishes, writing on Twitter: ‘Thank you for all of your very kind birthday wishes, and to Paolo and the National Portrait Gallery for these three special portraits. C.’

Over on the Clarence House Instagram account, there were three images offering snapshots of Kate in recent years.

One sees the Duchess sharing a friendly smile with her father-in-law, the Prince of Wales, during last year’s Festival of Remembrance Service at the Royal Albert Hall.

Another snap, taken at the G7 Summit last year shows Camilla, shows Kate and the Queen smiling, looking over a miniature replica of a model city as the Duchess of Cornwall looks on.

A third image shared by Clarence House is a close-up portrait of the Duchess smiling directly at the camera.

In the four images shared by the royal family’s Instagram account, Kate is seen beaming by the Queen’s side at several events, including in a photo taken early into Kate Middleton’s marriage to Prince William in 2012.

Sitting next to the Queen at a fashion show in Leicester, Kate, wearing a stylish all-black ensemble leans towards the monarch, smiling. The Queen, wearing a vibrant pink and black number, listens to her grandson’s wife attentively.

Another picture, also taken during 2012, shows the Queen and the Duchess sporting similar blue outfits and sharing a joke.

In a picture, taken during Trooping the Colour in 2016, Kate, holding a then two-year-old Princess Charlotte, looks entirely comfortable with the regal occasion, standing next to Prince William and the Queen, who is wearing a vibrant lime green ensemble.

Another snap highlights the strong bond uniting the monarch, Kate and the Duchess of Cornwall, with a picture taken at last year’s G7 Summit in Cornwall, showing the Queen cutting a cake with a ceremonial saber.

Charities who have worked with the Duchess of Cambridge over the years also shared well wishes on the occasion of her birthday.

Action for Children praised her as ‘an inspiring champion of children and young people,’ while Taking Action on Addiction thanked her for her ‘vital work to support those struggling with addiction.’

The Foundling Museum also thanked the Duchess for the work she did with them as their patron.

And the Victoria and Albert Museum called her a champion of ‘youth creativity and early years development’ and praised her ‘celebration of art and design.’

And the All Onboard campaign, which is behind the uplifting messages commuters can find on the London Tube’s information board had a special message for Kate this morning.

Royal photographer Chris Jackson, who is married to Kate stylist and friend Natasha Archer and just welcomed his second child, also sent his good wishes on Kate’s birthday.

In a tweet he said: ‘It’s been a joy to photograph the Duchess of Cambridge for the last decade. Ahead of her 40th birthday I thought I would share my best photos. From official duties to family life, tours and portraits I’ve been lucky enough to capture so any facets of her life.’