Inside Prince William’s 'private' 40th birthday celebration: royal expert

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is destined one day to be king. Dedicated to serve his country as his grandmother, the queen, has done for seven decades without any real hiccups, William is the epitome of a loving husband to Catherine, and a devoted father to their three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.

In public, William appears calm, balanced and determined. He is also so very keen to speak openly at times about safeguarding the environment and helping to protect species under threat of extinction. 

William and Catherine have also worked tirelessly to remove the mystery, and at times, cruelness that continues to mark mental health. This started all so well with his younger brother Prince Harry who we know has since spoken openly about his own issues all be for greater PR and on TV — William is far more reserved and shy in that respect.

In private, however, those close to him say that William, while being a loyal servant of the Crown, can defy his calm, family-guy public demeanor and is more determined than ever to rule in a totally different way to his grandmother and father.

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So who is Prince William at 40? Simple fact is he is a man unsure of his future as all people of monarchy are because you need the public on your side and the things that have been lobbied at him of late mainly thanks to his errant younger brother and sister-in-law Meghan — i.e." trapped and can’t escape" resonate badly with the British public — plus the racist comment spread around the world has not done much for his standing this year. Harry in William’s mind has a "lot to answer for."

However, he has one great stable in his life Catherine — regular date nights, cinema treats and above all the same fun giving sense of humor have helped ease William into reaching this milestone. William told me this about reaching 40 "it’s always [a] sense that it’s a dread, but honestly we should all rejoice in these and any birthdays after all what are there options [laughs]." 

"… Honestly, we should all rejoice in these and any birthdays…"

— Prince William to Neil Sean

Catherine though is far more powerful than people realize in William’s life. She is the one that has pushed ahead with the use of digital media, making sure they are connecting on all levels with the people via Zoom, YouTube and so forth. It was her idea that they sign off with the less formal W & C on social media posts and let’s not forget that it was Catherine who stunned the world in that gold dress at the last Bond premiere looking equally glamorous as any world movie star that made William "gasp with delight at Kensington Palace ahead of the premiere" when she emerged looking so dramatically different on the world stage.

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Catherine also shaped the look of William with this snappy dress down style of chinos, jumpers and a less formal look plus a number one buzz cut making his fare more relatable than previous heirs.

The big day will be private, and of course, there will be the picture release but what William is asking is that people don’t send cards flowers and gifts but to donate to less fortunate as we saw with his once again selling the Big Issue on the streets on London. He told me he loved this more than ever as "you are judged in the moment by the people buying the magazine and it was so nice to connect and find real views."

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His children are all having a hand under the supervision of Catherine in baking him a cake, and it’s his favorite of course, cards and gifts will be handmade plus he plans to spend the day quietly but still checking in on his charities that he really does care about.

Don’t be fooled that Prince William is a walk over though, and we have seen in the case of his younger brother Prince Harry and his wife who dared to cross him on so many fronts — he won’t have it and while his openness about the possible unsuitability of Markle fitting into royal life was blasted by his younger brother he was not wrong at all and this is really what has made the rift between the brothers even deeper.

While Harry misses Catherine’s sage advice on his life matters, William has openly stated to close family members that when his time comes it will be a joint event of both him and Catherine together reshaping the monarchy.

"His children are all having a hand under the supervision of Catherine in baking him a cake…"

— Neil Sean on Prince William's birthday plans

A sad footnote is that his once close brother Harry will not be here celebrating with him as Harry has decided that until Meghan receives what he considers to be an apology for all that has gone on and is well documented in those TV interviews then there is a distance. Harry and Meghan did leave a gift and card at Frogmore Cottage on their recent return to the U.K. but will family pictures of Harry’s new life in the U.S. plus a vinyl album of rock legends be enough to patch things up? 

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William was very candid rather recently when asked what kind of king he planned to be. "I plan to be myself and open and honest that is the only way." Asked later if he was looking forward to the role he added quietly that "of course, but that is if the public still want us." So there we have a king in waiting but with a very uncertain future as all succeeding monarchs as William more so than anyone before in this 21st century knows that it’s the public that will decide his and Catherine’s fate.

Happy Birthday, Prince William.