Kate set to celebrate 43rd birthday at home with her family

The Princess of Wales is celebrating her 43rd birthday on Thursday after a difficult, challenging year.

Kate will be marking the occasion at home in Windsor, with husband the Prince of Wales and their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis.

Next week marks a year since Kate was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery on January 16, just seven days after her 42nd birthday.

She spent nearly two weeks in the London Clinic after undergoing the major operation, and was recuperating at home when she was told she had cancer and had to begin chemotherapy.

The princess’s birthday on January 9 falls on the same day as the state funeral of former US president Jimmy Carter.

But it will be William’s uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh, who will travel to Washington DC and represent Charles, rather than the heir to the throne as has often been the custom for the funeral of American leaders.

William and Kate look set to carry out an overseas visit together, with the prince hinting as much.

“I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so we’ll have some more trips maybe lined up,” he said during his tour to Cape Town last autumn.

Kate has not taken part in an official foreign visit for more than 14 months.

The couple are co-funding a programme with Norfolk and Waveney Mind, which will provide counselling and targeted groups for often-isolated rural and farming communities.

The princess rounded off December by joining her family at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day, having hosted her festive carol concert at Westminster Abbey earlier in the month.

Speculation worsened when Kensington Palace released a Mother’s Day photograph of Kate and her three children, and photo agencies “killed” the image when it turned out to have been digitally altered.

The princess made a public apology and confessed to having edited the photograph, and she was seen soon afterwards, smiling as she visited a farm shop in Windsor with William.

Then just days later on March 22, she revealed in a shock video message that she was undergoing chemotherapy after post-operative tests showed she had cancer.

She described the development as a “huge shock”, but vowed “I am going to be OK” and asked for time, space and privacy.

Good wishes flooded in from around the world and the King was said to be “so proud” of his “beloved daughter-in-law” for her courage in speaking out about her diagnosis.

In June, a new photo and written message to the nation came from Kate ahead of a brief return to the public spotlight at Trooping the Colour – her first official engagement of the year and since her diagnosis.

The princess in candid words revealed she was “making good progress” but had “good days and bad days”, was “not out of the woods yet” and was facing a few more months of treatment.

At the Trooping, the princess rode in a closed carriage with her children and appeared on the balcony, and in July went to the Wimbledon men’s final with Charlotte.

In September, Kate issued a deeply personal video update on her health, saying she had finished her chemotherapy but her “path to healing and full recovery is long”, she was taking each day as it came, and was hoping to return to a light programme of public duties.

Her words were narrated over stylised footage showing the Waleses and their children enjoying the outdoors, walking through woods, and the couple cuddling as they held hands.

In October, Kate was pictured hugging aspiring photographer Liz Hatton, who had a rare and aggressive form of cancer, after inviting her to take pictures at William’s Windsor Castle investiture.

The teenager died just eight weeks later, with the prince and princess paying tribute.

Kate also made a surprise visit with William to meet the bereaved families of the Southport stabbing victims in Merseyside.

During the Remembrance weekend in November, she appeared at the Royal Albert Hall Festival of Remembrance in honour of the nation’s war dead, and at the Cenotaph, where the Duchess of Edinburgh placed a comforting hand on Kate’s back in a show of support.

She brought Christmas cheer with her annual carol concert in Westminster Abbey, where she gathered with William and their children, other royals, and celebrities such as Paloma Faith and Richard E Grant.

Kate spoke to Faith of “challenging times” and said she had not anticipated what the past year would bring.

The princess planned the service with help from Lady Gabriella Windsor, after inviting the recently-widowed Ella, whose husband, Thomas Kingston, took his own life in February, to contribute.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born to Carole and Michael Middleton on January 9 1982.

She grew up in Berkshire with siblings Pippa Matthews and James Middleton.

Kate met and began dating William at St Andrews University while studying History of Art.

The couple married in Westminster Abbey in 2011, with Kate becoming the Duchess of Cambridge and also a future queen.

The bride wore an intricate ivory gown with lace applique floral detail designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, while the groom, on the strict instructions of his grandmother, Elizabeth II, was dressed in the red tunic of the Irish Guards.

Kate and William have faced other personal challenges in recent years, dealing with the fallout from Megxit and the allegations levelled at them by the Sussexes amid the duke’s ongoing rift with his younger brother Harry.