Palace Cements Where They Stand With Meghan In Calculated Photo Choice For Harry’s Birthday
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at an event

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex turned 40 on September 15, 2024, and in an unexpected move, King Charles III and William, Prince of Wales both posted on social media for Prince Harry’s birthday. They both posted a picture of him from back when he was a working royal — Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex (in)famously stepped back from royal duties in early 2020. The photo from 2018 was when Harry and Meghan were visiting Ireland; however, the photo that the king and the Wales family chose to share was one of Harry by himself — Meghan was not included.

Some think that she may have been intentionally cropped out of the photo, as there was an option of a similar photo of Harry, which included Meghan by his side, that they could have used instead. But a spokesperson for King Charles confirmed that they didn’t crop Meghan out of the photo, but instead just used one from the same event that was solely of Harry, per The Independent.

Arguably, it was Harry’s birthday. It wasn’t like it was his anniversary with Meghan, so choosing a solo shot of Harry does make sense. However, it seems like there are hundreds of possible photos of Harry on his own that weren’t from an event where Meghan was literally right next to him. Therefore, we think the royals may be taking an artfully subtle stance — it can’t be seen as 100% anti-Meghan since she wasn’t deliberately cut from the photo, but it sure isn’t pro-Meghan.

Harry and Meghan have a long way to go before a royal family reconciliation

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at an event

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There may be some nuance behind the scenes regarding the feud between the royals and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. There have been multiple times that Buckingham Palace has been unhappy with Harry and Meghan, but there has been speculation that a reconciliation might be on the cards, at least between Harry and his father, particularly with the public 40th birthday tribute. But there are some hints that there isn’t soon going to be a mending of the rift between Harry and his brother.

Some pointed out that the X (formerly known as Twitter) account for William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales simply reshared the royal family post for Harry’s birthday instead of posting their own. The Wales Instagram account also shared birthday wishes, but only on Stories as it’s not on their main page; the Royal Family account included a permanent post for Harry’s birthday on their page.

So if these posts are any indication, it seems that it could take longer for the ice to thaw with William and Harry as well as between Meghan and the royals as a whole — Meghan reportedly wants an apology from the family for their behavior toward her, some of which she talked about in the explosive Oprah interview. Given all that, it’s probably going to take more than social media posts — some heart-to-heart face time is likely required to clear the air, and that could be hard to come by. Meghan hasn’t been back to the United Kingdom since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, and she’s unlikely to reunite with the royals until Harry’s on a better footing with them.