Despite ongoing tensions between the most senior members of the royal family, King Charles and Prince William publicly wished Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday on social media.
On Sunday, Sept. 15, the Duke of Sussex received surprise well-wishes from his estranged father and brother via social media.
"Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!" the official Royal Family Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts posted. The Prince and Princess of Wales' official X account then re-tweeted the King and Queen of England's original post, writing: "Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!"
All of the posts were accompanied by a picture of Prince Harry smiling. The same post was shared on the Royal Family's Instagram Stories, so King Charles and Queen Camilla certainly covered all of their social media bases.
The posts come in the midst of ongoing strife within the royal family, and ever since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle walked away from their royal duties and moved to California.
While the birthday wishes could easily be interpreted as a potential olive branch extended to Prince Harry, it's worth noting that the public gesture is likely just King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate adhering to royal protocol.
As Express notes, "the late Queen set a social media rule before her death that non-working members of the royal family can have their birthdays celebrated on official social media channels for milestone birthdays ending in 0."
Still, one royal expert tells the publication that the Duke of Sussex will feel “pleasure” after waking up to the royal well-wishes.
"The Palace had a policy of only recognizing the birthdays of working royals on social media. This marks a change but it is a special occasion. It is a sensible move that naturally begs the question, are tensions easing?" Richard Fitzwilliams said.
“It is in everyone's interest to have reconciliation and that, if it happens, it will almost certainly take a long time," he continued. "Mutual trust will need to be restored. However the obvious first step is to cease all hostilities.”
In 2022, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly wished Princess Kate a happy 40th birthday via a video call and despite ongoing tensions.
"From what I understand, they did a video call," royal expert Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly at the time. "They wished her a happy birthday, very private, but Harry and Meghan were not about to post anything the way they did two years ago when Kate turned 38. Both Harry and Meghan made a very public display of their affection for Kate, wishing her a happy birthday. This time, they kept private."
Recently, Prince William and Prince Harry made a surprise joint appearance at their uncle's funeral, appearing in the same room for the first time since their father's Coronation. The brothers' attendance, coupled with reports claiming that Kate Middleton wants her husband to end the family feud and the 40th birthday wishes could very well mark a turning of the tide for the monarchy.
