Prince Harry receives surprise public message from Royal Family that raises hope of reconciliation

The statement was accompanied by an image of the King's youngest son grinning while on a public engagement.

While the statement may seem unextraordinary to most people, it has sparked intrigue among royal commentators.

When the Royal Family social media account failed to mark Harry's birthday in 2023 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.

The Duke of Sussex 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 of her own at the time.

The Prince has had a strained relationship with his family since he dramatically quit his job as a working royal in January 2020 and moved to the US.

He has since launched several attacks on the royal life, in the form of interviews and his memoir Spare.

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 Dialy 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."

The Royal Family's public message to celebrate Harry's 40th birthday comes amid there is growing support among the people of the UK for the Duke of Sussex to make a return as a working royal.

According to a new poll Prince Harry has seen a significant increase in public support for his potential return.

A survey by Ipsos reveals that a third of Britons would now back the Duke of Sussex's permanent return to official working royal life.