Meghan Markle might be back in the news after recently announcing a new initiative designed to help parents of child suicide, but that doesn’t mean the scandals surrounding her short-lived period as a British royal have disappeared. Over the weekend, reports revealed how the Duchess of Sussex was shunned by the royal family on her 43rd birthday.
Markle, who married Prince Harry on May 19, 2018, turned 43 last week. She received an outpouring of birthday wishes on social media from her friends in Hollywood, but the Royal Family stayed absolutely silent. It comes after years of scandals involving Markle and her husband, both of whom have made “racism” allegations about the British royals.
It’s not the first time the royals have blanked her, either. Buckingham Palace didn’t put out a statement wishing her a happy birthday on her 42nd birthday last year, either. It was her first birthday since the death of Queen Elizabeth II – with whom she was understood to have had a strained relationship – and since her husband’s father, Charles III, ascended to the throne.
And before you go thinking that birthday wishes are not something on which the Palace officially remarks, think again. Royal aides do issue birthday remarks for working members of the Royal Family either via official channels or through social media – but Markle has gotten the cold shoulder ever since she announced that she intended to leave the ranks of what’s known as “the Firm.”
In January, 2020 – right before the pandemic – Harry and Meghan hit international headlines when they announced that they would be leaving their roles as working members of the Royal Family to carve out a “new” role for themselves. After months of negotiations with the late Queen, the pair eventually moved out to Los Angeles, escaped the kingdom, and lost their “HRH” (his/her royal highness) titles.
It’s also worth noting, by the way, that the pair did get some positive messages from Prince William, the brother of Prince Harry and the future King of England, back in 2022, even after the scandals unfolded. In August, 2022, both William and Kate issued their best wishes to Markle on Twitter, now known as X.
So if you thought the Firm was getting back together, you may want to think again…
