Topics: Royal Family, Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, UK News
Buckingham Palace has released an official statement after a 40th birthday tribute to Prince Harry sparked backlash from royal fans.
The Duke of Sussex celebrated his birthday on Sunday (15 September), after which hoards of well-wished messages began pouring in.
The official social media accounts of the Royal Family also joined in to post a heartfelt message to Harry, which left some fans surprised given the alleged strained relationship.
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Father-of-two Harry has reportedly endured a turbulent relationship with his family since he and his wife Meghan first went public with their romance in 2016, and the status of his bond with older brother Prince William has constantly been under scrutiny.
Naturally, therefore, spectators were shocked when the official Twitter account of The Prince and Princess of Wales (William and Kate) paid tribute to Harry on his 40th birthday.
It was the nature of the photograph used that set tongues wagging, however, after they appeared to use a photo from which Harry's wife Meghan had been cropped.
"Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!" they captioned the post, while resharing a smiling photo of Harry that the official Royal Family account had posted hours before.
🎂 Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today! pic.twitter.com/sAlSiV9EaZ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 15, 2024
The snap was taken by photographer Jimmy Rainford on 11 July 2018 during Harry and Meghan's visit to the Dogpatch startup hub in Dublin, Ireland.
"This is wrong on every level. Sorry, but it is," one person hit out, while others speculated why Meghan had allegedly been cropped out.
"Not only did the Royal Family crop out Meghan, they picked a photo where you can’t see Harry’s wedding ring. Oh the subliminal messaging in Royal releases continues!" another accused.
Since then, however, Buckingham Palace has released a statement on the matter, claiming no amendments to the photo were knowingly made and that the snap was used in the format it was received.
Tyla contacted Buckingham Palace for further comment.
When Harry and Meghan first embarked on their romance, reports swirled at the time that Prince William had raised his concerns about the speed at which their relationship had blossomed.
In the years that followed, the couple - who share son Archie, five, and daughter Lilibet, three - sensationally stepped down from their institutional duties and moved to America in the hope of setting up a more private life for their kids.
In several bombshell interviews, Meghan went on to claim that she has been on the receiving end of racist comments from an unnamed 'senior royal', including being asked what colour skin her unborn baby was going to have.
In the meantime, Harry's memoir Spare revealed tensions between him and his family - many anecdotes of which referred to his brother, who he alleged wrestled him to the ground during a conversation about Meghan.
Harry wrote in his book that William called Meghan 'difficult', 'rude' and 'abrasive'.
He went on to claim that the conversation escalated into an act of physical violence, writing: "[William] grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor."
Since then, the once-close duo have remained predominantly estranged, and only reunited for the first time since their father King Charles' May 2023 Coronation last month for a family funeral.
