Topics: UK News, Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle
Yesterday (15 September) marked Prince Harry's 40th birthday - and he received a very unexpected message from family members.
Harry, Duke of Sussex, stepped down as a senior royal alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020.
Meghan said 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.
Harry went on to publish unflinching memoir Spare, which revealed tensions between him and his family - many anecdotes of which referred to his brother, Prince William, the future King of England.
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Harry wrote in his book that William called Meghan 'difficult', 'rude' and 'abrasive' - which he believed was regurgitating press narratives.
He went on to describe 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."
What has followed since the Sussexes' departure from England is palpable estrangement between the family members.
This is why so many spectators were shocked to see that the official social media account for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton publicly wished Harry a happy birthday.
Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex! https://t.co/ZKJbYDmV6L
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 15, 2024
On their X account, they simply put: "Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!" while reposting a smiling photo of him that the official Royal Family account had posted hours before.
Some people took offence to the post, with one person responding: "This is wrong on every level. Sorry, but it is."
Others were more intrigued by the story behind the photo, with some speculating his wife Meghan had been cropped out.
One user suggested: "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!"
Though this was swiftly shut down, with another user identifying the original photograph never had Meghan in it, rubbishing claims she was cropped out.
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.
The user explained: "The Royal Family didn't crop Meghan out of the photo, they just picked one that she wasn't in. Considering it's Harry's birthday and not Meghan's, this makes sense.
"All I'm saying is that it wasn't the Royal Family who cropped her out....they simply chose the photo without her."
