Princess Kate and Prince William unexpectedly reach out to Harry as they follow King's lead
PA
The Duke of Sussex is celebrating his 40th birthday today
Princess Kate and Prince William have unexpectedly reached out to Prince Harry as they followed King Charles's lead.
The Duke of Sussex is celebrating his 40th birthday today, and senior members of the Royal Family have broken with tradition and publicly sent Harry good wishes on social media.
The Prince and Princess of Wales quote-tweeted a post made by King Charles and Queen Camilla's social media team this morning, which read: "Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!"
Kate and William's message similarly read: "Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!"
The Prince and Princess of Wales quote-tweeted the King's original message, which contained an image of Harry grinning while on a public engagement.
The Royal Family's public olive branch towards Harry has sparked intrigue among royal commentators.
The Firm failed to mark Harry's birthday in 2023, and at the time Buckingham Palace said public birthday wishes were sent on social media only to "working royals'".
The Duke of Sussex was heard admitting that he had not been contacted by his family at the 2023 Invictus Games in Germany when asked by a fan about his birthday.
Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex! https://t.co/ZKJbYDmV6L
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 15, 2024
The father-of-two is set to mark the birthday milestone privately in California where he lives with his wife Meghan Markle and their children.
The Duchess of Sussex, who turned 43 last month, did not receive a birthday post from the Royal Family.
Harry has had a strained relationship with his family since he quit his job as a working royal in January 2020 and moved to the US.
He has since launched several attacks on his former royal life, through interviews, a Netflix docuseries and his memoir Spare.
Prince Harry and Prince William have had a strained relationship over the past few years
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It has also been claimed that King Charles will reach out to Prince Harry privately today in order to reconnect with his son.
The monarch will speak to Harry via Skype this afternoon, according to The Express, citing a "well placed source".
"The King will reach out to Harry on his birthday," the source said. "Although the family are not as close as they once were, there is still a lot of love there.
"They tend to use Skype when they communicate because they can see each other and it's all set up by staff so it runs smoothly."