King Charles and Queen Camilla Wish Kate Middleton a Happy Birthday

King Charles and Queen Camilla are leading the way in wishing Kate Middleton a happy birthday.

The Princess of Wales turned 43 on Thursday, Jan. 9, and the King, 76, and Queen, 77, were among the first to issue wishes by sharing an image of Kate wearing green as she joined them for the royal family’s traditional outing to church on Christmas Day at St. Mary Magdalene in Sandringham.

The British royals have celebrated Christmas at their private home in the Norfolk countryside for generations, and fans were heartened to see the tradition continue on the heels of a difficult year in which Charles and Kate were both diagnosed with cancer. 

‘Happy Birthday to The Princess of Wales,” the image was captioned on the Instagram Stories of the official royal family page.

Buckingham Palace shared the news about the King’s health in February 2024, and Princess Kate announced she was undergoing treatment for cancer that March.

In accordance with the palace’s tight-lipped approach to medical conditions, the types of both of their cancers remain unknown to the public. However, the Princess of Wales shared on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy, and palace sources said on Dec. 20 that the King’s treatment will continue into this year.

“His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year,” the sources said before Christmas. The King is also planning to travel abroad and around the U.K. in the coming year, similarly filling his schedule as he did towards the end of 2024.

Princess Kate seemed to be in bright spirits as she joined her family for the traditional Christmas march to St. Mary Magdalene, where she walked in step with her husband Prince William and their children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. It was Princess Kate’s first public walkabout of the year, as she was outside of the limelight for most of 2024 to focus on her health and was in her element as she spoke with well-wishers.

At one point, the Princess of Wales was so focused on the moment that she joked, “I seem to have lost my family!,” as Prince William and their kids wound up way ahead of her on the path. 

The Princess of Wales’ poignant conversations on Christmas Day included a one-on-one with Karen Maclean, 73, who has had cancer for over 20 years, two sisters who visited in memory of their grandmother, who died of cancer in 2024 and was a “massive royal fan” and teacher Louis Beauchamp, who traveled from Paris specifically to see Kate. 

Beauchamp met the princess for the first time during a pub visit she did with Prince William in May 2023 before King Charles’ coronation, and tells PEOPLE that she seemed touched by the gifts he gave her on Christmas. 

The educator has been inspired by Princess Kate’s Early Years work, and gave her a special scarf from Morocco with a heartfelt letter about the “positive impact she has had on my life over the years,” he says. When he handed it to her, the princess thanked him for his kindness. 

“She thanked me very much and said it was wonderful and so kind of me to have come again,” Beaucamp tells PEOPLE. “She was as genuine and close to people as I remembered. She seemed so happy to be with us again. You could tell she was truly touched.”

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Following the holiday, Princess Kate hasn’t set any expectations around what her calendar might look like. In the September video message she issued to announce that she completed chemotherapy, the royal said that she was focused on “doing what I can to stay cancer free” but looked forward to undertaking “a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”

The Princess of Wales did just that by joining the royals for November’s Remembrance events, hosting her fourth annual Together at Christmas carol service on Dec. 6 and then stepping out again on Christmas at Sandringham.

“You can’t say she is back … but she is coming back,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith previously told PEOPLE. “She is doing it in her own way and at her own pace, and carefully.”