As well as shaking hands and meeting with ordinary people, the Duchess of Cambridge's royal role sees her also mix with world leaders.
In the last 12 months, she rubbed shoulders with power players at the G7 Summit and Cop26 and even hosted an engagement with US President Joe Biden's wife Jill.
But despite her growing confidence on the world stage, it's been reported that Kate, who turns 40 on Sunday, is more of an "understated presence" as she finds moving in the circles "quite challenging".
A source told Hello! : "She still finds it quite challenging to mix with those sorts of players, because she's a natural introvert. But she's really growing into the role."
In the last 12 months, Kate has taken the lead on several projects including the Hold Still photography competition and hosted a Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey.
And the insider added: "She's got a very creative mind and she goes into meetings with those ideas fully formed. She's all over all the detail and very much part of the team. It's really exciting working with someone like that. It's not what you expect from a future Queen.
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"She's very focused - she always arrives with loads of notes and ideas and articles that she's seen, but she's very self-deprecating and funny too. She's had a bit more time in the last couple of years with the kids getting a bit older. She gets a lot out of it."
Given her supposed introverted nature and despite reaching her milestone birthday on Sunday, it's thought to be unlikely that Kate's celebrations will be big - especially given the Covid-19 situation.
It's likely she will celebrate the day with her husband Prince William, her children, her parents and her sister Pippa and brother James.
A source told the Mail on Sunday : "There are likely to be low-key celebrations for the Duchess. She didn’t want anything flashy anyway – that’s not exactly her thing – but particularly given the current climate anything is likely to be scaled down."
It comes after royal author Duncan Larcombe told OK! : "Kate and William are not the sort to go away to celebrate on their own and leave the kids at home.
“I think the same will apply to Kate’s birthday as it does to Christmas - it will be low key and it will be focused entirely on the family.”
