Today marks Kate Middleton's 42nd birthday. And while the Princess of Wales is keeping her celebration low-key — it's the royal's usual M.O. not only for her cake day but also for the beginning of January in general, when her kids have a break from school — fans are celebrating all over social media. One video in particular, which highlights Kate's pre-royal life, has earned more than 4.5 million views on TikTok, proving that she's always been an It Girl and that even before she became the Duchess of Cambridge, all eyes were on her.
“Kate Middleton before royalty (a lot of partying with William),” fan account @jusst_tiktokss wrote alongside a montage set to a very peppy remix of ABBA's “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)."
The video loop shows images of Kate wearing sequins, dancing with William in a club, and attending a roller disco with her sister, Pippa. The images date back to 2008, which could also explain why Kate is wearing UGG boots, which ruled the scene (and continues to be a favorite) back in the day.
Commenters came to celebrate, writing things like, "Kate is enjoying her youthfulness, and now she's a grown-up, so she has obviously matured," and "they were having the best days of their lives. Just like any of us here during college."
While she appears to be outgoing and loving every minute of her social life, Kate reflected on her shyness after getting engaged to Prince William in 2010. The two first met at the University of St. Andrew’s and would go on to date for almost a decade before William popped the question.
"I think you said I actually went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off," she told William during their 2010 engagement interview. "[I was] feeling very shy about meeting you."
"We were friends for over a year first," William added. "It just sort of blossomed from then on. [We] realized we shared the same interests. [We] just had a really good time."