What to Know
Over the years, birthday greetings for immediate family members have become a regular part of the royals’ social media calendars. Prince William and Kate Middleton always share new portraits for each of their children’s birthdays, and they usually pay tribute to each other when the adults’ birthdays roll around, too.
But some royal watchers are giving Kate and Will’s birthday posts a second look, and many are convinced that they’re actually said a lot about the state of their marriage without saying much at all.
The birthday posts have looked a bit different over the years.
how she posted him how he posted her pic.twitter.com/wdMOLrZ7f4
— 𓆩Mrs.W𓆪 (@Katrnish) August 10, 2026
The latest round of discourse began on X, where a fan posted a side-by-side view of one of Kate’s birthday posts to William, along with one of Will’s to Kate.
The photo Kate posted for her husband in June 2024 features Will jumping in the air, surrounded by the couple’s three children. “Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much!”
Meanwhile, Will’s post for Kate that was shared in January 2025 featured a black and white photo of the princess by herself, with a caption that reads, “To the most incredible wife and mother. The strength you’ve shown over the last year has been remarkable. George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you. Happy Birthday, Catherine. We love you. W.”
People seem to think Will cares way more than Kate does.
And when you’re comparing these particular posts, it’s easy to see why they believe that — William’s message is much longer and feels much more personal, which is what seems to have stuck out to Kate’s critics the most.
“Yea she hates him. She only sees him as a wallet or Dad not as a husband. I’m so tired of seeing men participate in the marriage humiliation ritual,” one person wrote.
Another reply said, “Clearly one of them doesn’t value the other a lot.”
Both posts are sweet, but is this proof that Will is the only true romantic in this marriage?
They likely don’t have all that much to do with their social media account, though.
It’s hard to put much stock into these birthday messages, because even if Will and Kate wrote the captions and chose the photos themselves, they’re not meant to be personal birthday wishes if they’re shared with over 17 million followers.
Besides, the messages were also likely sent to a social media manager, who approved and posted them for Will and Kate. Not much romance in that!
These two probably save their true feelings for each other for their private conversations and card exchanges in person. When it comes to the royal family’s social media accounts, it is very clear that we only see what they want us to see.
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