The King and the Prince and Princess of Wales publicly wished Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday yesterday in what some may see as a carefully coordinated peace offering.
Both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace posted on their social media channels within hours of each other as the Duke of Sussex prepared to celebrate in California.
It was the first time in three years that the Royal Family acknowledged his birthday on X and Instagram, as they do with all working royals, and two years since they last mentioned him in any capacity.
Privately, it was stressed that this was simply in line with the “tradition” whereby public well wishes are shared on “significant” birthdays even for non-working royals.
Prince Harry, Prince William and King Charles pictured together in July 2018
The Royal Family’s official X account posted a birthday greeting to the Duke of Sussex
Prince Harry also received a surprise birthday message from Prince William and Kate just hours after the King and Queen posted the message.
Both Meghan and Andrew, Duke of York, have celebrated their biggest birthdays this way in recent years (her 40th, his 60th), despite their respective issues with the Royal Family.
Interestingly, the chosen photograph of Harry (taken when he was a working royal in 2018) was taken during a visit to a start-up in Dublin with Meghan by his side. But she was cropped, apparently by the original photographer at the time.
The birthday posts come shortly after Harry decided not to include a new chapter about his estrangement from his family in the upcoming paperback edition of his memoir, Spare. As the Mail revealed, this came as a surprise – but a surprise – to Buckingham Palace.
Officials have also notably tried to avoid discussing anything to do with the Sussexes of late in an attempt to create “space” around the King and his estranged son to see if anything can be salvaged from their fractured relationship.
Though angry and determined not to get involved with some of Harry’s more egregious allegations, Charles will never completely shut the door on his youngest son.
Prince Harry and Prince William at the unveiling of their mother’s statue in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday.
But he wants to be assured that there will be no further criticism from across the Atlantic and that if they do speak out, the Sussex team will not leak it immediately.
Last night Buckingham Palace made no comment on whether the King had spoken to his son in person. It is considered a “private matter”. Harry could travel to the UK in the coming weeks to attend the Wellchild Awards ceremony, one of the few charities he remains associated with here.
Since the King currently resides in Scotland but returns to London periodically for his cancer treatment, this could provide an opportunity for father and son to meet privately.
The last time they saw each other was in February, when the king’s diagnosis was announced and Harry insisted on flying from the United States to see him. They were together for just half an hour and are not believed to have spoken since.
When Harry returned in May, the king was apparently too busy to meet with him. But sources close to the Sussexes have made it clear that the prince is keen to find a way to reconcile with his father and return to the UK more regularly, although they say he has no interest in returning to royal duties.
However, they acknowledge that the situation with his brother, Prince William, is much more complex. The couple are believed to have not spoken to each other for two years as a result of Harry’s repeated attacks on his brother and even his sister-in-law, Catherine.
The birthday posts come shortly after Harry’s decision not to include a new chapter about his estrangement from his family in the upcoming Spare paperback edition.
Prince Harry with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children Archie and Lilibet in 2021
The first move came yesterday from Buckingham Palace, which posted a photo of Harry laughing taken on the trip to Ireland after his wedding in 2018, saying: “Wishing the Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” alongside a birthday cake emoji.
Two hours later, Kensington Palace reposted the message with a similar message. Again, the explanation given was that it was an “important” birthday, but it is likely that they both felt the need to “sing the same anthem” given the conjecture that would inevitably ensue if one of the families decided not to.
To understand why a simple birthday post should be considered so significant, it must be noted that following Harry and Meghan’s departure from the UK and their royal duties in 2020, Buckingham Palace was in a dilemma.
Agonizing over whether you should simply wish someone a happy birthday seems ridiculous, but in terms of actual communications, these things matter. Millions of people check your social media posts and read many runes into each message.
A major issue was the lack of family photographs they had of the Sussexes to use and the way the couple fiercely controlled them.
There was only one image of the Sussex’s youngest, Archie, born in May 2019, that had been released by the palace and they were therefore able to continue using it in their publications.
This photo was taken at the official photocall to celebrate his birth at Windsor Castle two days after his birth. As one official said at the time: “We can’t keep using a photo of him two days old where you can’t even see his face. And no one dares ask them for another one.”
The decision was then made to stop issuing annual birthday wishes to Harry, Meghan and their family under the guise of a “convention” that such messages were only applicable to working royals.
The team knew they would get some criticism for this, but the feeling was that after a flurry of headlines in the first year, people would get used to the “new normal.” As one team member said at the time, “We just need to get this over with.”
Harry reportedly planned to celebrate his birthday with family and friends at his home in Montecito and then spend a few days away with friends.
Meanwhile, the King and Queen Camilla attended church in Scotland yesterday, driving to Crathie Kirk, just outside the Balmoral estate.