Buckingham Palace has rejected all the allegations of cropping Meghan Markle out of Prince Harry's 40th birthday photo that was posted on social media to extend good wishes to the Duke.
The 2018 photo that was posted on the family's official accounts was used exactly as it was sent by a photo agency, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told the Independent.
Meanwhile, Us Weekly reported that the Duke of Sussex was photographed from various angles, both with and without his spouse, and that the unaltered and cropped images were at the time shared with Getty Images. Royal insiders clarified the allegations that Markle was cropped out from the picture are unfounded.
“The Duchess was not cropped out by Buckingham Palace,” royal sources told Us Weekly. “The image was provided to them by a picture agency, as a complete stand-alone image of The Duke.”
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All you need to know about Harry's image in question
Markle, 43, seemed to have been cut out of a picture of her husband that Buckingham Palace posted in honor of the Duke's milestone birthday on Sunday, which sparked rumors of a snub earlier on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}Markle, 43, seemed to have been cut out of a picture of her husband that Buckingham Palace posted in honor of the Duke's milestone birthday on Sunday, which sparked rumors of a snub earlier on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” the royal family posted from its official X account, which is run by King Charles III’s office.
The post was reshared by Harry's estranged brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton via their official Prince and Princess of Wales X account with the message, “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!”
Harry's solo picture in question was captured in 2018 during an event at Dogpatch Labs in Dublin.
One photo that was shot at the time showed Markle sitting next to the Prince at a table with other individuals, while other photos show only Harry in the frame.
It was the first time that the royal family officially recognised Harry's birthday in three years. Tension between the royal family members sparked when Harry and Markle announced their resignation from their royal duties in January 2020.
The Duke and Duchess moved to California and started a new life with their two kids. However, they kept criticising the royal family in a number of interviews and in Harry's bombshell memoir Spare.
Things now seem to be cooling off as King Charles apparently wanted to patch fences with his younger son following his cancer diagnosis this year.