Harry snubbed by royal family for 39th birthday celebrations

Royal family’s social media accounts stayed quiet while the Duke of Sussex rang in his birthday with Meghan Markle in Germany

The royal family have so far stayed tight-lipped for the occasion of Prince Harry’s 39th birthday.

The official Twitter and Instagram accounts for the royal family, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, did not share any birthday wishes for the Duke of Sussex.

Harry is currently attending the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, where he celebrated his birthday with Meghan Markle, as the couple enjoyed a traditionally hearty German meal at a popular brewery on Thursday.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Kensington and Buckingham palaces for comment.

This is the second time the royal family has failed to mark Harry’s birthday after last year, when it fell during a period of national mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth.

On 15 September 2022, the official X/Twitter account for then-newly anointed King Charles and Queen Camilla shared pictures of members of the royal family greeting mourners in Sandringham, Manchester, and Glasgow.

Earlier this year, the royal family also maintained radio silence as the Duchess of Sussex Meghan celebrated her 42nd birthday on 7 August.

The relationship between the Sussexes and other members of the royal family have been strained since Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries was released last December.

This was followed in January by the release of Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, in which he makes a series of bombshell claims about his relationship with senior members of the royal family, including his brother Prince William.

The duke and duchess resigned as senior members of the royal family and relocated to Montecito, California, where they currently live with their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lillibet.

Neither Archie nor Lillibet received any birthday wishes from the royal family this year, either.

(Getty Images)

While Archie’s fourth birthday coincided with the King’s coronation in May, Lillibet turned two in June.

On Thursday, Harry and Meghan were joined by members of their security team, staff at Archewell foundation, and their publicists for a meal of blood sausage, bratwurst, schnitzel, and mashed potato at popular Dusseldorf restaurant Schumacher Brewery.

Harry also blew out the candles on a white chocolate cake served by the restaurant, before the couple headed back to their hotel around midnight.

On Friday, they will continue attending matches at the paralympics-style sporting tournament for service personnel, including the sitting volleball finals.

The closing ceremony of the Invictus Games will be held on Saturday 16 September, one week after Prince Harry opened the games he founded in 2014.

Fans have been delighted by pictures of Harry and Meghan reuniting at the tournament on Tuesday, when Meghan flew in from Montecito.

“Harry and Meghan love loudly,” one person said on X, formerly Twitter, reacting to photographs of the couples holding hands, embracing each other, and exchanging sweet smiles.