No, Buckingham Palace did not snub Meghan Markle in their 40th birthday tribute to Prince Harry.
“The Duchess was not cropped out by Buckingham Palace,” royal sources told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 17. “The image was provided to them by a picture agency, as a complete stand-alone image of The Duke.”
The image posted via the palace’s Instagram — snapped during Harry and Meghan’s first overseas trip as a married couple in 2018 — showed the Duke of Sussex solo. An expanded version of the photo shows Meghan sitting to his left.
“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” the palace’s caption read on Sunday, September 15.
Prince William and Prince Harry’s Complicated Relationship Over the Years
Despite Harry’s ups and downs with his family in recent years, the royals shared their best wishes for the duke. Other than the celebratory message from his father King Charles III and stepmother Queen Camilla via the Buckingham Palace Instagram, Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton posted their own birthday tribute.
“Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to the Duke of Sussex,” the Prince and Princess of Wales shared via X on Sunday. They also shared the Buckingham Palace post.
Us previously confirmed that Harry’s low-key birthday plans included a party at his $14 million Montecito home with Meghan, 43, and their two kids: Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. He’s also set to embark on a mountain getaway with a group of friends.
Harry “has a small [group] of close friends” in California, a source told Us in a cover story published last month.
A Timeline of Meghan Markle’s Ups and Downs With the Royal Family
William and Kate’s social media post dedicated to Harry was a shock to some royal watchers, especially amid their ongoing rift. Since Harry and Meghan made the decision to leave their roles as senior royals in 2020, there has been tension between the brothers.
Harry spoke about his relationship with William at length in the 2023 memoir Spare. (At one point Harry detailed an apparent physical altercation with William.)
Over a year and a half after Spare‘s release, however, “Harry is very content [and] doesn’t have any of those [old] feelings now,” a source told Us in April. “He feels that his life has purpose and meaning and that he can bring a lot of good to the world.”