Going beyond the usual new-photo release for a Royal Family birthday, Kate Middleton celebrated hers with a reflective video essay.
The Princess of Wales, who turns 44 today, starred in and narrated — presumably voicing words she’d written or at least shaped herself — a short film shared to her official social media accounts.
“Even in the coldest, darkest season, winter has a way of bringing us stillness, patience and quiet consideration,” she says over a backdrop of footage filmed on what appears to be an early morning walk in the English countryside. “Where the stream slows just enough for us to see our own reflection, to discover the deepest parts of ourselves alongside the whispers and the pulse of every living thing.”
Spliced with footage of the princess walking through this winter landscape, the narration takes a (by royal standards, that is) personal turn.
“I find myself reflecting on how deeply grateful I am,” she says over a shot of her hand — famous engagement ring and all — plunged into a running stream. “For the rivers within us flow with ease, fears washed away, cleanse and purify, come to peace with our tears and discover what it means to be alive. To be at one with nature, a quiet teacher and a soft voice that guides in memory, helping us to heal.”
In the caption, Kate says that it is a reflection on how nature has “helped me heal.” While she doesn’t spell it out explicitly, it seems to be an indirect reference to her cancer diagnosis in 2023 and her ongoing recovery journey.
This is also the culmination of a series of similar videos she and her team have released on social media over the last year. Titled “Mother Nature,” they’re reflections on the various seasons, and the princess has called them a “deeply personal, creative” project.
The video marks a departure from the usual royal practice of releasing a new photo on a birthday. Instead, Kate appears to be leaning into a facet of her personality that skews more spiritual and profound: The tone is similar to the thoughtful, emotionally vulnerable language she has used when giving updates about her treatment ending and her remission status, for example, and is more “down to earth.”
This also extends to her clothing choice: In the video, she’s wearing Penelope Chilvers boots that she has owned for two decades, and a scarf that was first spotted in 2007.
It’s also another recent example of the art history graduate leaning into her artistic side. Just a few weeks ago, we saw her and her daughter, Princess Charlotte, dueting together on the piano at her Together At Christmas carol service.
Yesterday, the princess and her husband, Prince William, had a joint engagement at a hospital promoting charitable giving to the U.K.’s government health service. There, she presented a business-like figure in a burgundy Roland Mouret suit that we’ve seen several times before.
The engagement also had a full-circle connection to today’s video: It was one year exactly after the princess announced that her cancer was in remission.
