Meghan Markle is celebrating her 44th birthday today, but her big day is also special for the royals. The Duchess of Sussex will undoubtedly be doted on by her husband, Prince Harry, who will surely pull out all the stops to make his wife’s birthday special.

While no official details of Meghan’s birthday celebrations have been released yet, it is thought that she will mark the day privately with her nearest and dearest in Montecito, California. But while Meghan is expected to be at the centre of attention all the way across the pond, August 4 holds a special place in the royals’ hearts, too.

On August 4, 1982, when the Duchess was just one year old, Prince William was christened in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace.

The ceremony for the future King, whose full name is William Arthur Philip Louis, was performed by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, and huge crowds gathered outside the Palace.

In his book Catherine: The Princess of Wales, author Robert Jobson wrote: “A large crowd had gathered outside the Palace and the Queen Mother appeared on the balcony before the ceremony. This time it was completely private, a closed event.

“Photographer Jason Bell was invited to take the historic photographs at Clarence House, including one of the monarch and the three direct heirs to the throne, Princes Charles, William and George, the first time such a picture had been taken since 1899, when an eighty-year-old Queen Victoria posed with her direct successors, Edward VII, George V and Edward VIII.”

Meanwhile, the is also special for the royals because it is the late Queen Mother’s birthday.

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was born on August 4, 1900.

She was one of the most beloved members of the Royal Family until her death on March 30, 2002.

Her death, aged 101, came just a few weeks after her second daughter, Princess Margaret’s, death.

The late Queen Elizabeth, her only surviving daughter, was by her side at Royal Lodge.