I’m sure fans of The Royal Station Master’s Daughters will join me in wishing happy birthday to the Duchess of Cambridge who is 40 today. In this fabulous photograph released to mark her special day  it shows how she is radiant, glamorous, feminine, confident, happy, informal and fun.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reside in Anmer Hall on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk and are much loved there. Kate is down to earth and very much part of this tight-knit community. She visits local shop, takes her children to play on the swings in the country park, and, during the height of the covid pandemic last year, she and her children delivered food parcels on the estate. The young royal family have also been sighted at local pubs.

The Eastern Daily Press tells us Kate is spending her birthday at her Norfolk home. It is the start at what will be a momentous royal year. Prince William turns forty on 21 June, just two weeks after the country celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, her remarkable record breaking 70 year reign on the British throne. A weekend of celebrations are planned for the weekend 2-5 June.

Meanwhile, later today we celebrate my son Jame’s 29th birthday. The balloons and banners are up and we await him and our other guests later this afternoon. I won’t be drinking any fizz as I am doing dry January, but I shall toast their birthdays with a glass of sparkling water  and wish them both a very, very happy birthday.