Apparently, the Duchess of Cambridge doesn't like birthday parties. With that in mind, Kate Middleton celebrated her 37th birthday "privately" on January 9 with a super-intimate tea party with just a few mini-VIPs on the guest list, Vanity Fair reported. Citing an unnamed source, the magazine reported: "Kate doesn't like big birthday celebrations, but Prince George and Princess Charlotte love birthday cakes, so there will be a special tea party with candles at Buckingham Palace and gifts." Well, the tea was spilled.
In fact, the Duchess spent her special day with one, if not all, of her and Prince William's three children: George, 5, Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 8 months . Also reported by VF , "Kate is believed to have spent the day at Kensington Palace with baby Prince Louis and Charlotte." (Of course, George was immersed in school during the day, but apparently he got home in time to see his mom Blowing out the candles on the birthday cake that he and his sister loved so much).
What about Prince William? While many speculated that he would not be able to attend any birthday celebrations due to the official involvement of the Royal London Hospital's London Air Ambulance Service, VF are also happy to report that he will also be home in time for a tea party.
Although William had to leave his wife to attend the event, during which he was named the new patron of the life-saving organization's 30th anniversary celebrations, William was obsessed with his wife's birthday. The series of events saw the royal (and former search and rescue pilot) take a brief helicopter flight over London, where his two children gave him a homemade oversized birthday card for the Duchess. The handwritten note read: "To Kate, I hope you had the best birthday you could ever imagine."
"Remember, well done," he told the young man, as seen in a video posted on Twitter by Rebecca English , the Daily Mail 's royal correspondent who covered the incident. "I did remember this morning, so that's okay!" (He also paid royal tribute to the giggling children's calligraphy.)
In another video posted by English, he later expressed his gratitude for some of the toys he received during the same visit. One of the items is what looks like a stuffed helicopter, and William said his kids "will love it," noting that "Louis will be chewing it in no time." However, he seemed to predict that George would be the most excited , because William said his eldest son would "never forgive" him if he came home without a toy helicopter.
Back at the palace, other royals shared photo-filled birthday wishes for Kate on their official social media accounts. "Happy birthday to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge!" read a post on the royal family's Twitter page. In a second tweet from the same account, Kate expressed her commitment to children:
"The Duchess carries out her royal duties in support of the Queen in the UK and overseas, and devotes her time to supporting charities and [organisations], some of which [centre] are about giving children the best start in life."
The official account of Clarence House, also known as the home of Kate's in-laws Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, retweeted both posts and also shared more photos of the duchess on Instagram.
"Happy birthday to Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge?" the caption of the Clarence House Instagram post read - cake emoji and all.
While Kate herself has yet to issue any public statement of thanks, Kensington Palace did post a message on Twitter thanking everyone for their well wishes. "Thank you everyone for all the lovely messages on the Duchess of Cambridge's birthday," KP tweeted. (This one included a red balloon emoji, by the way.)
It seems that Kate's 37th birthday is indeed suitable for a low-key princess.
