Kate Middleton's adorable interactions with children have gone viral on TikTok on her birthday alongside some glowing recommendations from A-listers.
The Princess of Wales turned 42 on January 9 and the royals posted a celebratory message to the family's official X, formerly Twitter, account which read: "Wishing The Princess of Wales a very happy birthday today!"
A fan on TikTok got there slightly earlier, however, with an edit that cut together clips of Kate with children alongside some high profile praise.
One post was liked 217,000 times and viewed 1.1 million times after it was shared with the message: "My birthday edit for the princess—my role model <3 her bday is on January 9 and she's turning 42."
Among the segments was a meeting between Kate and 5-year-old Mila Sneddon, who had leukemia during the coronavirus pandemic and appeared in the royal's Hold Still photography exhibition.
The pair had a video call in May 2021, when Mila asked whether Kate was wearing a pink princess dress.
@l0velycatherine my birthday edit for the princess - my role model <3 her bday is on january 9 and she's turning 42. just posted this days early | video credits to the owners || #princesscatherine #princesskate #katemiddleton #princessofwales #fyp #l0velycatherine ♬ original sound - will ☁︎
Then the Duchess of Cambridge, she vowed to wear one when they met in person: "I'll have to make sure I'm going to try and find myself a pink dress.
"Hopefully when one day, hopefully, Mila we'll get to meet and then I'll remember to wear my pink dress for you. Would that be nice?"
The princess met Mila at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, Scotland, later that month in a pink dress—making good on her promise.
Elsewhere in the TikTok clip, Anne Hathaway responded to a question from a 6-year-old girl called Sammy on Good Morning America about who her favorite princess was.
In the 2014 footage, Hathaway said: "I think right now my favorite princess is Kate Middleton. Is she a duchess? She's a princess too, right? I think she's lovely and she makes me very happy. And that royal wedding, it could just not be beat."
Another segment showed Reese Witherspoon giving a 2012 interview to Ellen DeGeneres in which she described meeting Kate in 2011, the year of her royal wedding to Prince William.
Witherspoon said: "She was really nice. She was lovely. She's so composed. She seems like such a lady and I think it's so nice nowadays to see someone with such nice composure and carries herself so beautifully."
Witherspoon wrote in her biography Whiskey in a Teacup: "I felt relatively immune from the obsession with the royals until a few years ago when I was invited to meet Kate Middleton. She had just married Prince William, and she was coming to Los Angeles for a fundraiser.
"I don't even know how I got so lucky as to receive the invitation. The scream that issued from my lips upon receiving it—you would have thought I was going to die."
Queen Rania of Jordan was also included in the TikTok post in an interview with CNN: "Princess Catherine, you know, when she talks about her work, her face lights up.
"She does it out of a sense of duty, but more importantly, she does it because she absolutely cares."
Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
