Royals British Royal Family British Royal Family History Royals at 40! See Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth and More at the Milestone Age Kate Middleton celebrated her 40th birthday on Jan. 9, 2022! See the rest of the royal family as they celebrated the milestone birthday By Andrea Wurzburger Andrea Wurzburger Andrea Wurzburger is a former features writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 10, 2022 03:53PM EST Close 01 of 12 King George VI King George VI. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Born December 14, 1885, Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI, turned 40 in 1935, taking the throne the following year after his brother, King Edward VIII's abdication. 02 of 12 Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Born at the turn of the century on August 4, 1900, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother turned 40 on Aug. 4, 1940. Pictured is the Queen Mother lounging outdoors with one of her dogs that year. 03 of 12 Queen Elizabeth II Hulton Archive/Getty The day after her 40th birthday on April 22, 1966, Queen Elizabeth made a speech at the state opening of parliament. 04 of 12 Princess Margaret Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Queen Elizabeth's younger sister, Princess Margaret, celebrated her 40th birthday on August 21, 1970. 05 of 12 Prince Philip Getty Queen Elizabeth's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh turned 40 on June 10, 1961. He died on April 9, 2021 at nearly 100 years old, 06 of 12 Prince Charles Georges De Keerle/Getty The Prince of Wales celebrated his 40th birthday on Nov. 14, 1988. The week before his birthday, he visited France as part of an official visit, pictured. 07 of 12 Princess Anne Georges De Keerle/Getty The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne celebrated her 40th birthday on August 15, 1990. 08 of 12 Peter Phillips Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty The eldest of Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren and Princess Anne's firstborn, Peter Phillips turned 40 on Nov. 15, 2017. Pictured, Phillips attends an Easter gathering at Windsor Castle in April 2018. 09 of 12 Prince Edward Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Born in 1964 and the youngest of Queen Elizabeth's children, Prince Edward rang in his 40th birthday on March 10, 2004. 10 of 12 Zara Tindall Samir Hussein/WireImage Tindall is Queen Elizabeth's eldest granddaughter — her mom is Princess Anne — and she turned 40 on May 15, 2021. One month later, she attended the 2021 Royal Ascot. 11 of 12 Meghan Markle Archewell.com Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, celebrated the big 4-0 with her 40x40 initiative, releasing a video on the Archewell Foundation website to announce "a global effort encouraging people around the world to commit to giving 40 minutes of their time to support women going back to work." She did so with the help of comedian Melissa McCarthy and a cheeky appearance from a juggling Prince Harry. 12 of 12 Kate Middleton Kate Middleton. Paolo Roversi The Duchess of Cambridge celebrated her 40th birthday on Jan. 9 by releasing three stunning portraits taken by photographer Paolo Roversi. In the photos, the future Queen donned three romantic gowns, all designed by Kate's wedding dress designer, Sarah Burton, for Alexander McQueen. There were several personal touches in the photos (including nods to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, and her grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth), but one of the sweetest is that husband Prince William and the couple's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, got to choose a favorite portrait (the close-up at center) to share.