Kate Middleton has been given back a special birthday privilege that was revoked amid "financial challenges".
The Princess of Wales hasn’t been glimpsed in public since Christmas Day when she put on her best winter coat and a stunning blue hat and walked to church with the rest of the Royal Family. Her return to royal duties for 2024 is likely imminent with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis back at school but Kate also has a special personal occasion to celebrate this month.
The future Queen turned 42 on 9th January and whilst fans might not get to see her on her big day, Kate’s special birthday privilege can be enjoyed by many people out and about in London. This was previously revoked amid "financial challenges", but Westminster Abbey has now listed the Princess of Wales’s birthday on their bell-ringing calendar for 2024.
This means that the bells will be rung to celebrate this occasion from 1pm and this isn’t something that happens for everyone in the Royal Family. In the past, the late Queen Elizabeth’s children, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Charlotte and Louis all received this unique birthday honour.
However, this all changed in 2022 when Westminster Abbey explained that going forwards only the late monarch and the then-Prince Charles’s birthdays would be marked in this very public way.
As per Hello! at the time, Westminster Abbey declared, "The Abbey bells can be heard ringing out before services and in celebration of church festivals. The bells have also traditionally been rung to mark the birthdays of senior members of the Royal Family."
"Due to the financial challenges posed to the Abbey by the Covid-19 pandemic, and in consultation with Buckingham Palace, the bells will now ring only for the birthdays of HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales," they added.
In light of this, the Princess of Wales’s 40th birthday went without any bells being rung but last year and this year Kate’s special birthday privilege was restored. As the Princess of Wales, she is now the most senior royal woman other than Queen Camilla and so it makes complete sense that Kate is now once again once of the select few whose birthdays are marked with the bells.
This isn’t the only tribute to Kate’s birthday, however, as the Royal Family have also taken to Instagram to share a beautiful photo of her from King Charles’s coronation day alongside their birthday wishes.
Seemingly taken at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, the Princess of Wales can be seen beaming at King Charles and Queen Camilla in the special snap from photographer Chris Jackson.
"Wishing The Princess of Wales a very happy birthday today! 🎈🎊," the caption declared.
Since King Charles ascended the throne not only has Kate’s special birthday privilege been restored to her, but he has also established the tradition of only posting birthday photos to mark the birthdays of senior royals. The Prince and Princess of Wales have followed this example and many fans will no doubt be excitedly wondering whether their own social media accounts might share another stunning new photo to mark Kate’s birthday this year.
