Along with birthday wishes from William and Kate on their official Royal Family social media accounts, the Duke of Sussex also got birthday messages on their X and Instagram accounts.
Prince Harry has received some unexpected royal birthday wishes.
On Sunday, September 15, the Duke of Sussex turned 40. For the first time since 2021, the royal family formally acknowledged Harry’s birthday. To commemorate the historic event, his brother Prince William, 42, and father King Charles, 76, also made posts on social media.
The official Royal Family social media accounts are administered by the Buckingham Palace office of King Charles. One of these accounts celebrated Harry’s milestone birthday with a direct post.
The post’s description read, “🎂 Sending warm wishes for The Duke of Sussex’s 40th birthday today!” and included a photo of the Duke beaming.
In the interim, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared the Royal Family’s message on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram Stories, adding their own happy welcome to it.
The text over the image read, “Happy 40th Birthday, Duke of Sussex.”
People know that on Sunday, September 15, Harry will celebrate turning forty in a private setting in Montecito with his closest friends and family. After that, it’s expected that Harry would go abroad to continue the festivities with close friends.
The happy posts come as a surprise because public birthday wishes are usually reserved for working royals, but they are occasionally made for milestone birthdays as well. Considering the present friction between Harry and his brother as well as his strained connection with their father, many saw these first birthday greetings from Prince William and King Charles as a possible outreach.
In July, sources told PEOPLE that Harry was treated the same disrespectfully when he tried to get in touch with Prince William by phone calls, texts, and messages as he was when he tried to get in touch with King Charles.
The royal insider explained that while there had been a “very bad” rupture with Prince William, it was not “irreparable.”
When Prince Harry returned to the UK in May 2024 to celebrate the Invictus Games’ tenth anniversary, he did not meet with Prince William or the King. The spokesman for the Duke of Sussex claimed that the monarch’s “full schedule” was the reason why Harry and the King were not in communication at the time. Harry may have wanted to discuss his legal battle for security because he has been fighting for it in court for more than four years, and individuals close to him claim that his father has the power to have him reinstated. (Previously, a royal insider told PEOPLE that it is “wholly incorrect” to think Prince Charles is in charge of Harry’s security.) Royal Buckingham won’t comment on security protocols.
In 2020, when Harry and Meghan Markle left their royal duties, there was a sharp criticism and unresolved feelings that marked the family divide. However, Harry’s biggest unaddressed question remains security.
Following the King’s cancer diagnosis in February, the father and son had a positive encounter, but their relationship has since degenerated. Prince Harry’s close friends claim that the queen no longer returns his son’s mail or calls.
“He becomes ‘unavailable at this moment,'” a PEOPLE contact of Harry claimed. No one answers his calls. He has tried calling to find out the King’s status, but his calls are not answered either.
