Meghan Markle: Members of royal family wish Duchess of Sussex happy birthday

Duchess of Sussex celebrates her 39th birthday on Tuesday 4 August

On Tuesday 4 August, the Duchess of Sussex celebrates her 39th birthday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently living in Los Angeles with their son, Archie, having relocated first to Canada and then the US after announcing their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family.

It has been several months since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have seen members of the royal family in person, one of the last times being at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on 9 March, shortly before they formally stepped down from their roles on 31 March.

As the former Suits actor celebrates her 39th birthday across the pond, several members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales, have shared messages in her honour on social media.

The official Twitter and Instagram accounts for the royal family shared a photograph of Meghan with the Queen in Cheshire from 14 June 2018, the first time the duchess carried out an official engagement with the monarch.

“Wishing The Duchess of Sussex a very happy birthday!” the message read.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall shared an image of Meghan that was captured during her and Prince Harry’s visit to New Zealand in 2018, writing: “Happy Birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!”, alongside a balloon emoji.

On the official social media accounts for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the couple posted a photograph of Meghan interacting with a young child.

“Wishing a very happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex today!” they said.

In a week’s time, Finding Freedom, a biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is set to be released.

Written by royal journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the book has been serialised by The Times and The Sunday Times prior to its release, with extracts claiming that Meghan felt she had “given up her entire life” for the royal family and that rumours of a rift between her and the Duchess of Cambridge were not true.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex explained that they had no involvement in the making of the book.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom,” they stated.

“This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”