Princess Kate has expressed her “love” for in a new social-media message to mark the royal’s 42nd birthday on Friday.

In a post to the couple’s official social-media channels, the princess authored a personal tribute to her husband, reading: “Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much!”

The message was signed with her initial “C” for her first name Catherine, along with a kiss “x.”

Included with the tribute was a never-before-seen photograph of William jumping barefoot with his three children, (10), (9) and (6).

The photo was taken by Kate in Norfolk in the east of England last month.

The Context

Kate’s message comes as she made on June 15 at the Trooping the Colour celebrations, having spent six months away from royal duties as she continues to receive

What We Know

Prince William having been born in London on June 21, 1982, the eldest son of and the late (at the time, the Prince and Princess of Wales)

William has undertaken a reduced working schedule since the beginning of 2024 when Kate underwent abdominal surgery prior to her cancer diagnosis. The prince has provided brief updates on his wife’s health when meeting members of the public since then.

In the period between Kate’s surgery in January and her cancer announcement in March, the princess became the many of which centered around her health, condition, marriage and whereabouts.

On June 14, Kate wrote providing an update on her health. In it, she said that, though continuing her chemotherapy treatment, she hoped to make some appearances at events over the summer when she felt able.

A spokesperson for William said at the time that the prince was ” to see the princess starting to engage with the work and projects that are important to her.”

Views

A number of commentators have noted the rising anticipation among fans that Kate and William will begin to make more joint public appearances as her health improves.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams that this rise in attention was inevitable but highlighted the princess’ cautious words hinting not to expect too much too fast.

“It is clear there will be enormous speculation about which events in the summer she will be attending and about her progress,” Fitzwilliams added. “As she said, she is not ‘out of the woods yet.'”

What’s Next?

Birthday messages for Prince William continue to flood social media from fans, his charities and the organizations he works with.

In addition to Kate’s personal tribute, the official royal family social-media accounts acting on behalf of King Charles issued their own well-wishes.

Captioned “Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales!” the included a touching image of an infant William on the king’s knee, taken at Kensington Palace in London.

William Brown is Regalrumination.com‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly , at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s

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