Prince Harry-Royal Family rift temporarily laid to rest with first public birthday message in 2 years
Despite snubbing Meghan Markle on her birthday last month, the royal family shared a public message on Sunday about Prince Harry's 40th birthday.
In a first, the royal family broke the snub cycle treatment towards Prince Harry on his 40th birthday. Following a two-year public silence on the celebratory occasion, the royal family has seemingly buried the hatchet—presumably temporarily—to send heartfelt wishes to the Duke of Sussex on September 15. They last shared a public message on Harry’s birthday in 2021. This counters the broken royal tradition that treated Meghan Markle to complete silence on her 43rd birthday last month.
The post on X, former Twitter, had the brief, simple, and crisp caption, “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!" and was accompanied by a smiling snap of the Duke. Surprisingly, Prince William and Kate Middleton also wished Harry in a joint statement via ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales’ X account: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!”
This particular birthday marks a special milestone for Harry as he’s expected to receive a grand royal present thanks to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who reserved a whopping $8.5 million inheritance in a $90 million trust fund arranged for the royal family.
Despite these positive developments, transitioning the tone of the long-stretched-out estrangement from his father, King Charles, and brother, William, there’s no sign of the familial rift settling down anytime soon. Earlier this year, emerging reports alleged that the Duke’s ongoing legal battle over security had “frustrated” the King, so he purportedly stopped taking his son’s calls. On the other hand, Harry and William distantly reunited at the funeral of their uncle, Lord Fellowes, in the UK. Nevertheless, per PEOPLE, they didn't interact at church service.
Prince Harry's future entanglements
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, seem to be all on their own, so they’ve undertaken quasi-royal tours to Colombia and Nigeria this year. UK media have especially put these trips under the microscope, as has Harry’s Pat Tillman Award for Service honour at the 2024 ESPYs. As part of the Duke of Sussex’s Netflix deal, the new documentary series, POLO, will hit the streaming giant this December. He’s also slated to fly to New York this month for official visits linked to the Archewell Foundation, African Parks, The HALO Trust, The Diana Award and Travalyst.
Before all that, he’s ready to blow off steam on his 40th birthday bash. After spending some quality time with Meghan and their kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, he’s reportedly embarking on a ‘lads’ holiday.’