Prince William Turns 40: A Royal Family Tribute

The Royal Family Twitter account paid a special tribute to Prince William on his 40th birthday.

The account, which represents the Queen and working royals who do not have their own social media handles, shared a touching message dedicated to the Duke of Cambridge.

The tweet read, “Happy birthday to the Duke of Cambridge,” accompanied by a picture showing Prince William smiling widely during an engagement.

While it is common for the Queen's social media account to share a message to mark the birthdays of working royals, the Duke was given a special tribute.

The Twitter account marked several key moments in Prince William's life by sharing pictures that showed how close he is to his grandmother, the Queen.

The first tweet highlighted the prominence of William in the firm and read, “As the second in line to the throne turns 40, learn more about his Royal Highness.”

The thread started with a snap taken during the Duke's first public appearance on the steps of St. Mary's Hospital, hours after his birth, in the arms of his doting mother Princess Diana.

Another photograph included to signify the birth of William shows the Buckingham Palace announcement published on the day.

The Royal Family Twitter account also celebrated William's graduation from St. Andrew's University and his completion of the 44-week training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

A photograph shared on Twitter showed Her Majesty inspecting the Guard of Honour at Sandhurst while Prince William could barely manage not to smile at his grandmother.

Another key moment in the life of the Duke marked by the Royal account is the beginning of his training as a search and rescue RAF pilot.

The snap chosen for this tweet sees the Queen and Prince Philip visiting William at Anglesea in 2010, as he shows them around the RAF valley.

The Twitter thread also commemorated Prince William's two years of service as an air ambulance pilot at East Anglian Air Ambulance.

The Queen's tribute to William also includes two mentions of his family life.

First, it shows a picture of Kate and William leaving Westminster Abbey after their wedding ceremony in April 2011.

The last picture included in the Twitter thread was first released by Kensington Palace on Saturday night, ahead of Father's Day.

It shows Prince William surrounded by his three smiling children during the Cambridges' holidays in Jordan last October.