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 co-ordinated 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 the Royal Family have acknowledged his birthday on X and Instagram – as they do for all working royals – and two years since the last time they mentioned him in any capacity.
Privately, it was stressed that this was simply in line with ‘tradition’ in which public good wishes are shared on ‘significant’ birthdays for even non-working royals.
Prince Harry, Prince William and King Charles photographed together in July 2018
The official X account of the Royal Family posted a birthday greeting to the Duke of Sussex
Prince Harry also received a surprise birthday message from Prince William and Kate just a few hours after the King and Queen posted the message
Both Meghan and Andrew, the Duke of York, have had their landmark birthdays celebrated in this way in recent years – her 40th and his 60th – despite their respective issues with the Royal Family.
Amusingly, the picture chosen of Harry – taken when he was a working royal in 2018 – was shot during a visit to a start-up in Dublin with Meghan next to him. But she was cropped out, seemingly by the original photographer at the time.
The birthday posts come hot on the heels of the decision by Harry not to include a new chapter on his estrangement from his family in the forthcoming paperback edition of his memoir, Spare. As revealed by the Mail this came as a surprise, but a welcome one, 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 saved of their fractured relationship.
While angry and determined not to engage with some of Harry’s more egregious accusations, Charles will never completely close 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 re-assured that there will be no more barbs coming from across the Atlantic and that if they do speak, Team Sussex won’t immediately leak it.
There was no comment from Buckingham Palace last night as to whether the King had spoken to his son in person. That is considered to be a ‘private matter’. Harry may travel to the UK in the coming weeks to attend the Wellchild awards, one of the few charities he remains linked with here.
With the King currently based in Scotland but returning to London regularly for his ongoing cancer treatment, it could give an opportunity for father and son to meet in private.
The last time they saw each other was in February when the King’s diagnosis was announced and Harry insisted on flying across from the US to see him. They had barely half an hour together and are not believed to have been in communication since.
When Harry returned again in May, the King was apparently too busy to meet. But it has been made clear by sources close to the Sussexes that the prince is keen to find a way to reconcile with his father and to return to the UK more regularly, although they claim he has no interest in conducting royal duties again.
They acknowledge that the situation with his brother, Prince William, is far more complex, however. The pair aren’t believed to have spoken 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 hot on the heels of the decision by Harry not to include a new chapter on his estrangement from his family in the forthcoming paperback edition of Spare
Prince Harry with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children Archie and Lilibet in 2021
The first move yesterday was made by Buckingham Palace who posted a picture of a laughing Harry 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 this was reposted by Kensington Palace with a similar message. Again, the explanation given was that it was a ‘significant’ birthday. But it is likely that both would have felt the need to ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’ given the conjecture it would inevitably create if one household chose not to.
To understand why a simple birthday posting should be considered so significant, it should be stressed that following Harry and Meghan’s departure from the UK and royal duties in 2020, Buckingham Palace was in a quandary.
Anguishing over whether to simply wish someone a happy birthday seems ridiculous, but in terms of royal communications, these things matter. Millions pour over their social media posts and much rune-reading taken from each message.
A significant problem was the lack of family photographs they had of the Sussexes to use and the way in which the couple were fiercely controlling of them.
There was only one image of the Sussexes’ little boy, Archie, born in May 2019, that had ever been publicly released by the palace and, therefore, they were able to continue to use in their posts.
This was taken at the official photocall to mark his birth at Windsor Castle two days after his delivery. As one official said at the time: ‘We can’t keep using a picture of him at two days old where you can’t even see his face. And no one dares ask them for another.’
So a decision was taken to stop expressing annual birthday wishes for 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 take some ‘flack’ 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 insider said at the time: ‘We just need to get it over and done with.’
According to reports, Harry planned to celebrate his birthday with family and friends at home in Montecito followed by a few days away with pals.
Meanwhile the King and Queen Camilla attended church in Scotland yesterday, driving to Crathie Kirk on the outskirts of the Balmoral estate.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk