As Meghan Markle celebrated her 41st birthday yesterday, it appears she was snubbed by The Queen, who stayed silent and didn't send her public birthday wishes.
Meghan is believed to have spent her birthday privately at home in California with husband Prince Harry and children Archie and Lilibet. Since Meghan and Harry got married back in 2018, the Royal Family Twitter account has publicly wished her a happy birthday, including last year when she reached her 40s.
But this year, the official account did not mention Meghan's birthday at all - and the only post it made yesterday was about Princess Anne's visit to Edinburgh. The Royal Family's official Instagram account also did not acknowledge Meghan's birthday.
The Daily Express' royal correspondent Richard Palmer described the failure on the accounts to mark Meghan's birthday as "notable" - but explained it could be down to a new convention. Writing in the publication today, he said: "The Queen's website neglected to mention the big day after deciding it will only mark the birthdays of non-working members of the family when they end in a zero."
However, in contrast, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did send public birthday wishes to Meghan. Prince William and Kate took to Twitter and their Instagram stories and wrote: "Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"
They also shared a picture of Meghan, which was taken outside St Paul's Cathedral during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this summer. Their birthday message to Meghan comes amid a rift between William and his younger brother Prince Harry, Meghan's husband.
There has been much made of the rift between the two brothers, with their frosty relationship reportedly sparked by William's concerns over Harry's fast-developing relationship with Meghan ahead of their royal wedding in 2018. The tense row quickly boiled over - with Harry claiming his brother was "trapped" within the royal system during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey after quitting as a senior royal.
In Finding Freedom, the 2020 book about the royals by Meghan’s pal Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the rumours that Meghan made Kate cry were dismissed. However, in Meghan and Harry's tell-all interview, Meghan told chat show queen Oprah that she was the one crying.
Harry and Meghan came to the UK earlier this summer with their children Archie and Lilibet for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations - but were not pictured next to William and Kate, and are not believed to have spent much time with them in private.
There has also reportedly been tension between Meghan and Kate, with it previously said that Kate was left "sobbing" during the tense argument ahead of the Duchess of Sussex's wedding day in May 2018.
The Sussexes only made a fleeting appearance at Trooping the Colour and then attended a service at thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral - but were not at any other celebrations. Meanwhile, other royals who also sent a public birthday message to Meghan were Harry's dad Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.
On their Clarence House Twitter page, they also shared a picture of Meghan from the Jubilee celebrations with the message: "Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!" It was followed by a balloon emoji.
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