The Duchess of Cambridge celebrates her 39th birthday as the royal family, like the rest of nation, continues to live under lockdown.

Kate is believed to be with her family at their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall, where the Cambridges spent Christmas after the Queen decided to have a quiet festive period at Windsor Castle.

Her birthday celebrations are likely to be a private affair, due to lockdown restrictions, with William and their three children – seven-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte, five, and two-year-old Prince Louis.

During the pandemic, the Cambridges adapted their public life, turning to video calls to carry out virtual engagements and when restrictions were lifted carried out events face-to-face.

In November, the duchess said she was “humbled” more than half-a-million people took part in her landmark research on the issue of early years.

The study was the largest of its kind in the UK on perceptions of early childhood – which found only one in four people recognised the key importance of the first five years of a child’s life.

The Cambridges spent three days in December touring the country by royal train thanking frontline and key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

But William and Kate’s trip provoked veiled criticisms from Welsh and Scottish ministers who raised suggestions about the timing of the visit while Covid cases were still prevalent.

The Duchess of Cambridge, during a SportsAid event at the London Stadium in Stratford, London in February. Yui Mok/PA Wire
The Duchess of Cambridge, during a SportsAid event at the London Stadium in Stratford, London in February (Yui Mok/PA)

In a lighter moment Kate, William and their children made a rare public appearance as a family when they went to a London theatre to watch a pantomime staged for key workers in the run-up to Christmas.

And the Cambridges and their children were pictured a number of times taking part in the weekly clap for carers tribute during the first national lockdown.

The day before Kate’s 38th birthday in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their bombshell news they wanted to step down as working royals and become financially independent – something they have achieved.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born to Carole and Michael Middleton at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on January 9, 1982.

She was christened at the parish church of St Andrew’s Bradfield in Berkshire on June 20, 1982.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend a special pantomime performance at London’s Palladium Theatre to thank key workers and their families. Aaron Chown/PA Wire
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend a special pantomime performance at London’s Palladium Theatre to thank key workers and their families (Aaron Chown/PA)

Amman in Jordan was home to Kate and her family for a few years in the mid 1980s, where she attended a nursery school from the age of three, before returning to Berkshire.

At the age of 13, she went to the exclusive, private Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where she part-boarded.

She graduated in 2005 with a 2:1 in history of art from St Andrews University, where she met and began dating William, whom she married at Westminster Abbey in 2011.

She was dubbed “Waity Katie” for her patience during their long courtship, and was described by William in their engagement interview as having “a really naughty sense of humour”.

Kate – now an HRH and a future Queen consort – is patron of 19 charities and organisations, and has focused her charity work on helping children have the best possible start in life, particularly surrounding their mental health.