Royal Family Leaves Meghan Markle Out of Prince Harry’s Birthday Post: Palace Responds

In March, the royal family faced scrutiny over a photoshopped image featuring Kate Middleton and her children.  It appears as though  they have done it again, but this time –  instead of adding elements to a photo – they decided to remove them, namely Prince Harry’s wife of six years, Meghan Markle. Keep scrolling for what we know about the royal family Instagram controversy surrounding Harry’s birthday photo.

Prince Harry’s birthday post tribute from the royal family

To celebrate Harry’s 40th birthday on September 15, the official royal family Instagram featured a fun picture of the birthday boy in a suit laughing with the caption, “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” This was the first time the palace has publicly recognized Harry’s birthday since 2021. 

Some people were thrilled about the post and commented well wishes like, “There hasn’t been a post like this in years towards Harry. So nice to see!”. 

Others, however, took a more volatile approach and chose to focus on Harry’s schism with the royals, with one writing , “He does not deserve even a public greeting after everything he did. Despite being the king’s son, he renounced his duties. Those who deserve your greetings the most are Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie since they are not official working members either, but they provide more loyalty and commitment than Harry.”

Perhaps the biggest scandal from the post, though, was that the royal family seemingly cropped Meghan out of the picture. 

In the original photo — which was taken on July 11, 2018, shortly  after the couple got married — Meghan and Harry  are shown sitting at a table in Dublin, Ireland, with a group while participating in an official engagement. In the Instagram post, however, only Harry is shown, sparking speculation that the palace deliberately excluded the Duchess of Sussex. 

A source close to the royal family told the New York Post of the Instagram tribute and subsequent backlash that “in guidance, the photo was provided in this format by the Press Association.”

Another source confirmed this by telling The Independent, “A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace confirmed the image used was not altered and was used in the format it was received.”

At the time of publication, it is still unclear how Meghan and Harry feel about this birthday post and why the place chose to use an old photo when newer ones are available worldwide. 

What are Harry and Meghan up to now? 

After leaving the royal life behind in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have done quite a bit. 

They welcomed their second child  — Princess  Lilibet — bought a house in Santa Barbara, California, released a docuseries, did an interview with Oprah, embraced parenthood thanks to Prince Archie and exposed more about royal life through Harry’s memoir, Spare. 

The couple  has also made a handful of  trips back to England in the last several years. Together, they attended, for Jubilee days in June 2022, and returned  for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022, marking the last time the pair attended a royal event together. 

Harry, however, returned in May 2023 for King Charles III’s coronation, but he reportedly left right after the service ended. He is expected to return to the United Kingdom on September 30 as the guest of honor for the WellChild Awards. As of publication, it is unknown if Harry will see any members of the royal family during his trip. 

Neither Meghan nor Harry have any public social media, and they were last spotted in Cali, Columbia, in August 2024.