“I hope we’ll be able to have a happy family ourselves,” Kate Middleton confessed during her post-engagement interview with Prince William in 2011. Now, just three years later, the Duchess of Cambridge, 32, is a married royal and mom to His Royal Highness, Prince George, the presumed future king of England.
Ahead of Prince George’s first birthday on Tuesday, relive Middleton’s first year as a mother in photos starting with her famous exit from St. Mary’s Hospital in London last July, to her first postpartum appearance in October, and ending with her royal tour with Prince George this spring.
Kate Middleton does her best to keep from having a wardrobe malfunction while holding Prince George after arriving in Wellington April 7, 2014.
Reuters
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Prince William, smile while attendingthe Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 2, 2014 sans Prince George ahead of his first birthday July 22.
Reuters
Kate Middleton keeps a watchful eye on Prince George while departing Canberra April 25, 2014.
Reuters
Kate Middleton shows off her maternal side by chatting up a young girl in Blenheim April 10, 2014. The Duchesses meet and greet was preceded by Middleton's visit to the war memorial in Seymour Square.
Reuters
Kate Middleton helps her son, Prince George, take a few steps as onlookers watch at a Plunket play group event at Government House in Wellington April 9, 2014.
Reuters
Kate Middleton and Prince George make funny faces at one another during the young prince's first royal play date at Government House in Wellington April 9, 2014.
Reuters
Kate Middleton allows Prince George to play with her infamous brunette locks during a Plunket play group event at Government House in Wellington April 9, 2014.
Reuters
Kate Middleton tries her hand at multitasking by talking to other parents while managing Prince George at a visit to the Plunket play group event at Government House in Wellington April 8, 2014.
Reuters
Kate Middleton waves and smiles while holding Prince George, then 8 months, close after arriving in Wellington, New Zealand, April 7, 2014.
Reuters
Following pregnancy rumors, Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton announced they were expecting. The duo posed for a photo leaving King Edward VII hospital in London December 6, 2012 after Middleton's was treated for acute morning sickness.
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Kate Middleton shares a private moment with her son, Prince George, at his christening in London October 23, 2013.
Reuters
Kate Middleton and Prince William attend the christening of their son, Prince George, at St James's Palace in London October 23, 2013.
Reuters
Kate Middleton shows off her postpartum figure while playing volleyball at a SportsAid athlete workshop at the Copper Box in the Olympic Park in London October 18, 2013.
Reuters
Kate Middleton enjoys her first night out sans Prince George by accompanying her husband, Prince William, to the Tusk Conservation Awards at The Royal Society in London September 12, 2013.
Reuters
Kate Middleton smiles while making her first public appearance following the birth of Prince George at the Ring O Fire ultra marathon, in Anglesey, north Wales August 30, 2013.
Reuters
Kate Middleton appears to be settling well into motherhood, posing for the royal family's first official photo in the garden of her family's home in Bucklebury, southern England August 19, 2013.
Reuters
The world's first glimpse of Prince George after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton exited the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, in central London July 23, 2013.
Reuters