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, but they're also the one day of the year when we feel entitled to embrace our inner child and selfishly 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—like, for example, if our loved ones have other plans on our big day.

Kate Middleton is going to experience those pangs on Wednesday, when she turns 37. The Duchess of Cambridge works hard all year, putting the crown first, 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 at least part of her birthday alone because her husband, Prince William, already has other plans.

As People reports, Will is scheduled for a solo engagement on the morning of Kate's big day. 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, George, 5, and Charlotte, 3, 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. Of course, even though work and school are getting in the way of a full day bash in Kate's honor, we're sure the Cambridge clan will do something special for her that night.