By Molly Claire Goddard
2:01pm PST, Jan 20, 2026
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According to royal expert
Jennie Bond, Kate Middleton's recent 44th birthday was likely filled with gratitude. "I think two things have changed her. One is, of course, marrying into the royal family, a family of untold wealth. In all honesty, she could have anything she wants. But, more profoundly, her cancer diagnosis has made her reassess all that is important in life," she told
The Mirror. "She is on record as saying that it has been a life-changing experience. She has had to find her 'new normal.' That new reality seems to be a re-evaluation of what is truly important. And, for Catherine, that is family, love, nature and simple gratitude."
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"On her [Kate Middleton]'s birthday, I think she will want nothing other than to be surrounded by those she loves, her husband [Prince William], her [three] children, her parents and siblings — and to rejoice in being alive, healthy and at one with nature," Jennie Bond said.
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Following her health battle, Kate Middleton slowly returned to her royal duties. "Life for the Princess is definitely more settled after the past extremely difficult couple of years. The family is in a new home [Forest Lodge], and she is now in remission," Jennie Bond said. "So, I'm sure she'll be looking forward to the coming year with renewed vigor and that her diary will be filling up."
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While tending to her duties with The Firm, Kate Middleton's No. 1 priority is still her family. "For the foreseeable future, there is no doubt that nurturing her children and being a mom on the school run as often as possible is going to remain her priority," Jennie Bond said.
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During one of Kate Middleton's return engagements, she got candid about navigating life after illness. "You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism, through treatment. Treatment's done and it's like, 'I can crack on, get back to normal again,' but actually that phase afterwards is a really difficult time," she
said during a visit to Colchester Hospital. "You're not able to function normally at home as you were perhaps once used to."
