As the Princess of Wales celebrates her 44th birthday at the start of 2026, it signals a much-needed new year and new start for the family following a scandal-filled 2025

It is a big year for Princess Kate, who turns 44 on 9 January 2026(Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

With a gruelling cancer battle, family fallout and the loss of her confidante Queen Elizabeth II, the Princess of Wales has faced more challenges in the last few years than many do in a lifetime. But royal fans everywhere will be hoping that 2026 heralds a fresh start for Kate, who announced 12 months ago that she was in remission after treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Now, as Kate marks her 44th birthday on 9 January 2026 and continues her steady return to public life, experts believe her eyes are focused firmly on the future. “For anyone who has been through the devastation of a cancer diagnosis, another year of life is cause for celebration,” royal expert Katie Nicholl tells OK !.

Kate has been through an incredibly difficult time, but appears stronger every day(Image: Getty Images)

“Kate is an incredibly positive and optimistic person, and the way she has navigated her illness has only added to everyone’s admiration and respect for her. As she celebrates her birthday, she’ll be looking to the future and hopefully leaving the difficult past couple of years behind her.”

The year ahead is certainly set to be a time of great change for Kate, William, 43, and their children, George, 12, Charlotte, 10 and Louis, seven. Not only will the family be busy settling into the rhythm of life in their new Windsor home, Forest Lodge, but George is preparing to step up to senior school in September. And royal experts believe that while she’s committed to her professional duties, Kate will be determined to find a healthy balance between public and private life.

“Kate has always been incredibly hardworking and loyal to the Crown, as she juggles a demanding public role with motherhood,” says Katie. “But her focus has always has been on family, and I think that will continue to be the case. She’s gone through her cancer battle very much in the public spotlight, and that has been very hard. But I think her illness has given her a new perspective on life.”

Kate has a new perspective on life, we’re told

The princess has been open about how “life-changing” cancer is, and last year she told patients at an Essex hospital that recovery is a bumpy road. “You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment, treatment’s done – then it’s like ‘I can crack on, get back to normal,” she said. “But actually, the phase afterwards is really difficult.” She added, “You have to find your new normal and that takes time… and it’s a roller coaster.”

Nevertheless, while she is first and foremost a loving mother, there’s little doubt Kate will also have an eye firmly fixed on safeguarding the future of the monarchy, especially given the uncertainty hovering over King Charles ’s health. He revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, just weeks before Kate announced that she too was unwell.

“Catherine is hugely popular, she’s the star of the royal family,” author Hugo Vickers tells OK !. “The other royals, like Princess Anne, do a wonderful job, but with Prince Harry and Andrew off the scene, we have a very small royal family now. We really need Catherine.”

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Kate has become an integral and much-needed member of the royal family(Image: Getty Images)

While the King has resumed his public-facing work, it is expected that William and Kate will gradually take on greater roles to support him. And this spring they’ll gain an important new official power, when they become able to grant their first Royal Warrants of Appointment. In what is a major honour for the pair, they’ll be able to give the royal seal of approval to select goods, services and brands.

Royal tours are also hugely important to the monarchy, because they help strengthen international ties, and it’s been speculated that William and Kate may make an official trip to Australia this year.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he is “hopeful” the pair might visit in the “coming period”, and it’s been suggested the entire Wales family could travel over the summer. The couple’s last official trip down under was a three-week trip in 2014, when George was just a baby.

Of course, royal tours are notoriously exhausting, and Kate will no doubt be mindful not to take on too much in the aftermath of her illness. “It’s obviously a priority that Catherine should look after her health, after all she has been through,” says Hugo Vickers.

The couple last officially toured Australia and New Zealand in 2014(Image: Getty Images)

“This year, I also think she will focus on duties where she can really make a positive contribution, such as the work she does at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. Both she and William are slightly veering away from more formal ribbon-cutting events, in favour of doing things that enable them to engage with people a bit more.”

Kate is passionate about her philanthropic work, and became patron of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in January 2025. She received her own cancer treatment there and took her patronage announcement as an opportunity to reveal she was in remission. “I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to The Royal Marsden for looking after me so well during the past year,” she wrote.

Kate and William are forging a new path, experts say, but still have the same ethos as the late Queen(Image: WireImage)

“My hope is, that by supporting groundbreaking research and clinical excellence, as well as promoting patient and family wellbeing, we might save many more lives, and transform the experience of all those impacted by cancer.”

Kate has also said that she is relishing the chance to focus on the initiatives that mean the most to her, through her work with The Royal Foundation. February 2026 heralds a big moment for the foundation, as a new CEO steps into the key role for the first time.

And both Kate and William have shared their delight at the arrival of Sarah Rose, saying, “We are looking forward to welcoming Sarah to The Royal Foundation and to working with her on some of the issues which are closest to our hearts.”

For Kate, one of these issues is childhood development, and this is something she champions through The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood and her Shaping Us campaign, launched in January 2023 with an aim to “make a huge difference to the health and happiness of generations to come”.

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The princess’s work with her Shaping Us campaign is an integral part of her royal legacy(Image: Getty Images)

Dubbed her “life’s work,” the campaign is dedicated to driving awareness and gathering research about the transformative impact of the first few years of a child’s life, and Kate will no doubt remain hugely committed to the cause.

Closer to home, the princess will of course be pouring TLC into her own family, especially after such a difficult couple of years. “As William said last year in his interview with Eugene Levy, theirs is not a nine-to-five job,” says Katie Nicholl.

“The intrusion is part of the territory, but it isn’t easy for them to navigate, and I think people sometimes forget they are human. We know how hands-on Kate and William are as parents, and the last couple of years have given her great clarity on making sure their children and a happy home come first and foremost, and allowing the work to follow on from that.

“Nearly two years after Kate’s cancer diagnosis, it is hopefully starting to feel more like a thing of the past and something she has moved on from with great courage, bravery and success. There’s a sense that this is a new, happier, chapter for the princess.”