Royals at 40: King Charles, Princess Anne, late Queen and more in 9 archive photos

The Duke of Sussex will celebrate his 40 ^th birthday on 15 September, so we thought we'd take a look back at his royal relatives on their own milestone birthday.

Official portraits are often released to mark such occasions, with the royals celebrating in private with their nearest and dearest.

The likes of King Charles and the Duchess of Edinburgh have even carried out engagements on their birthdays, and duty also called for Queen Elizabeth II .

Take a look back in the gallery below…

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Queen Elizabeth II

The late Queen attended the State Opening of Parliament in all her finery the day after her 40 ^th birthday in April 1966. It was a momentous occasion as it marked the first time the full ceremony was televised.

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King Charles

Then Prince Charles celebrated his 40 ^th birthday publicly at Witton tram shed in Birmingham in 1988, where he was greeted with a tiered cake and a badge which read: "Life Begins at 40".

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Princess Anne

The Princess Royal celebrated her 40 ^th birthday with a private party at her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire, but according to reports at the time, her future second husband, Vice Admiral Laurence, was absent from the bash. Here, Anne is pictured wearing a white dress with padded shoulders as she attended a dinner at Grosvenor House Hotel.

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The Duke of Edinburgh

The late Queen and Prince Philip's youngest child, Prince Edward, turned 40 in March 2004, just a few months after he and wife, Sophie, welcomed their first child, Lady Louise Windsor, in November 2003.

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The Duchess of Edinburgh

​​ ​​ Sophie beamed as she was inundated with balloons and gifts as she opened a new Sixth Form Centre at Collingwood College in Camberley, Surrey.

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Zara Tindall

Princess Anne's daughter, Zara, pictured at Royal Ascot, celebrated her 40 ^th birthday two months after welcoming her third child, Lucas, in May 2021.

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Meghan Markle

To mark her 40 ^th birthday in August 2021, The Duchess of Sussex appeared in a video to launch a new women's work mentoring initiative . Earlier that summer, Meghan gave birth to her second child, Princess Lilibet.

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The Princess of Wales

Kate, pictured at Wimbledon, was captured by renowned photographer Paolo Roversi, for three stunning official portraits to mark her 40 ^th birthday in January 2022.

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The Prince of Wales

Prince William, pictured in Cambridgeshire after his 40 ^th birthday, volunteered with the Big Issue for his milestone in June 2022.

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