King Charles III is ready to bestow new royal appointments on Princess Kate Middleton and Prince William.
On Tuesday, April 23, Charles, 75, appointed his daughter-in-law as the Royal Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour. In a history-making move, Kate, 42, is the first Royal Companion named to this order.
According to the British royal family website, the Companion of Honour is a special award granted to those who have made a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine or government lasting over a long period of time. Past recipients include actress Dame Maggie Smith, physicist Stephen Hawking, politician John Major and bishop Desmond Tutu.
Not to be outdone, William, 41, was appointed by his father to be Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. The role had been vacant since 2022 after Charles acceded to the throne.
The position is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary service.
William and Kate’s new appointments come the same day the couple celebrate their son Prince Louis’ birthday.
“Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis! ????,” the Prince and Princess of Wales wrote via Instagram on April 23 while sharing a new photo of their youngest child. “Thank you for all the kind wishes today.” (The couple also shares Prince George, 10, and Princess Charlotte, 8.)
In a break with tradition, the couple didn’t share the image with media outlets in advance as they have in the past.
While plans for this year’s celebration remain private, both William and Kate are trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for their kids amid the Princess of Wales’ cancer treatment.
After weeks of speculation surrounding her health, Kate announced her cancer diagnosis in March after an “incredibly tough couple of months.”
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous,” she said in a video released worldwide. “The surgery was successful, however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present. My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy, and I’m now in the early stages of that treatment.”
While Kate said she is “getting stronger every day,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in March that the mother of three wanted to keep some information private to give her children time to adjust.
“They wanted to wait to tell the world the news until their children were off school for the Easter break,” the source explained, “so they could have time to process the news before the whole world was talking about [it].”
