London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – The royal family has offered a small peace offering in its split with the Duke of Sussex by wishing Prince Harry a happy birthday for the first time in three years.
In a post on X, the royal family posted a photograph of a smiling Harry, to celebrate his 40th birthday, complete with a cake emoji. The message stated:
“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”
It is the first time the royal family has conveyed such a public birthday greeting to Harry since 2021, the year the Sussexes blamed unnamed royals of animosity and racism in a discussion with Oprah Winfrey.
🎂 Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today! pic.twitter.com/sAlSiV9EaZ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 15, 2024
How has Harry’s relationship with the Royal Family Evolved?
Harry is observing his birthday on sunday at his California home with Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, before reportedly running away for a gathering with close friends. Harry, who strolled down as a working royal in 2020, remains alienated from his brother, William, the Prince of Wales, and has a strained connection with his father, King Charles.
Last February, Harry fled to the UK to see his father after the king’s cancer diagnosis. But the discussion was kept to just 45 minutes, and there was no discussion with his brother. He travelled to London again in May to mark a decade of his Invictus Games and followed a service at St Paul’s Cathedral but did not assemble with his brother or father.
There was also a quick return to the UK in August for the funeral of his uncle Lord Fellowes, when he visited Althorp, the ancestral home of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. He reportedly had no exchange with William at the church service.
How has Harry’s legal battle impacted his relationship with the Royals?
The duke persists in pursuing legal cases against tabloid newspapers over allegations of phone hacking and illegal information-gathering, in a battle he thinks has annoyed his family. In his memoir, Spare, he composed of what he saw as the royal family’s connivance with the media through alleged spreading, believing himself to be collateral damage.
Harry also told an ITV documentary that his decision to fight the tabloids over allegations of phone hacking was a “central piece” in destroying his connection with his family. A separate lawful battle with the Home Office over his safety while in the UK is reported to have “frustrated” the king.
Harry failed a high court challenge against the Home Office in February over a determination to change the level of his personal security when he visits the UK, but he has been granted leave to appeal. During the case, the court was informed Harry believes his children cannot “feel at home” in the UK if it is “not feasible to keep them safe” there and that he faces a more splendid risk than his late mother, with “additional layers of racism and extremism”.