Kate Middleton Will Spend Part of Her Birthday Away from Prince William

Birthdays are a bit of a paradox. They're the one day of the year that actually, literally marks and brings our attention to the fact that we're aging (opens in new tab), but they're also the one day of the year when we feel entitled to embrace our inner child and selfishly (opens in new tab) declare that everything should be about us. That's why it can be a big bummer when things don't go one hundred percent our way on our birthdays (opens in new tab)—like, for example, if our loved ones have other plans on our big day.

Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) is going to experience those pangs on Wednesday, when she turns 37. The Duchess of Cambridge (opens in new tab) works hard all year, putting the crown first (opens in new tab), and you might think her birthday would be the one day she actually gets to be priority one. Unfortunately, being literally royal means you're not "treated like a princess" in the colloquial sense. Kate will spend (opens in new tab) at least part of her birthday alone because her husband, Prince William (opens in new tab), already has other plans.

As People (opens in new tab) reports, Will is scheduled for a solo engagement on the morning of Kate's big day (opens in new tab). Specifically, he'll be visiting staff members of London’s Air Ambulance (along with patients and their families) at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. The charity is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and marking the occasion with a tea party, which Will has promised to attend.

Since Kate's oldest kids (opens in new tab), George, 5, and Charlotte, 3 (opens in new tab), are heading back to school the week of her birthday, the mother of three will spend most of the day celebrating at home with her newest bundle of joy, baby Louis (opens in new tab). Of course, even though work and school are getting in the way of a full day bash in Kate's honor (opens in new tab), we're sure the Cambridge clan (opens in new tab) will do something special for her that night.