To mark Prince Harry’s 36th birthday last week, a number of senior royals paid tribute to him via their official social media accounts.
But eagle-eyed royal watchers were to quick to point out something amiss on many of the photos. None of the photographs released by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, included his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
“Wishing a very happy birthday to Prince Harry today!” posted William and Kate with a picture of the three racing each other at a 2017 event.
The Prince of Wales shared a series of photos, some featuring a much younger looking Harry. The queen posted a picture of the two sharing a moment on the official royal family account.
Daily Mail journalist and royal expert Amanda Platell weighed in on the matter, saying that the exclusion of Meghan from the pictures would have hurt him.
“Despite palace protocol dictating that spouses are not included in pictures celebrating royal birthdays, it must have hurt Prince Harry deeply to see that the images released by his grandmother, father and brother to celebrate his 36th birthday all excluded his wife Megs,” she wrote.
Platell mentions the Cambridges’ birthday message includes a picture of Kate Middleton from 2017, something the royals were willing to bend the rules for.
Meghan’s absence was also noted by ’Good Morning Britain’ co-host Piers Morgan who claimed the duchess had been “airbrushed” out, the Express reported.
“They all hate each other, let's be perfectly honest. They cut Meghan out,” Morgan said.