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Prince & Princess of Wales

The bells at Westminster Abbey ring out to mark the Duchess of Cambridge’s 38th birthday

The bells at Westminster Abbey tolled on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the Duchess of Cambridge turning 38-years-old.

Westminster Abbey often chimes it’s bells on big royal occasions, most recently in November to celebrate the 72nd wedding anniversary of The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The fact that Catherine has now been recognised by the bells at Westminster Abbey shows her increasingly important role within the British Royal Family.

To mark the Duchess turning 38-years-old, Buckingham Palace shared a trio of photos of Catherine with the Queen.

The collection was the first of several celebrations held on social media as the duchess’ big day got under way. Kensington Palace took the chance to share a new photo of Kate for her big day – a sunny snap taken by Matt Porteous. It was accompanied by a thank you for all the good wishes sent to the duchess for her birthday.

Clarence House also celebrated Kate’s 38th. Its social media post featured a quartet of photos of the duchess. In two she is seen with the Prince of Wales while she shares the spotlight with the Duchess of Cornwall in another.

A solo portrait makes up the set. Sussex Royal posted a congratulatory message beneath the new photo of Kate on the Kensington Palace Instagram account.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on January 9th 1982 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, the first child of Michael and Carole Middleton. She grew up in Berkshire and met Prince William while studying at the University of St. Andrews. She became HRH The Duchess of Cambridge following her marriage to William on April 29th 2011.