Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can seemingly do no right. The two did not publicly wish Kate Middleton a happy birthday, giving fuel to their haters. There’s a logical explanation, however, for why you didn’t hear about a 40th birthday message.
Middleton turned 40 with a flourish. The Duchess of Cambridge posed for Paolo Roversi in three stunning gowns. She’s always been known for her fashion sense, as anyone could see at the No Time To Die premiere. She chose the gowns carefully, and even wore some of Princess Diana’s earrings for the occasion.
The photographs would be the most lavish part of Middleton’s birthday. With COVID-19 still ravaging the United Kingdom, the royal family thought it best to have a modest celebration. Sources told Us Weekly, “There’s no lockdown in place, but [there’s] some resistance to big gatherings. It’s something that people just maybe don’t think is the best thing to do.”
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The royal social media accounts wished her a merry day. Prince Charles and Camila Parker Bowles took to Instagram photos of the family. Middleton’s own page was dotted with her portraits.
Markle and Harry did not publicly express any birthday wishes for Middleton. It’s very easy to view this as a slight, or more fuel to a rivalry. In reality, this lack of public good wishes is a side effect of the Sussexes lifestyle choices.
Neither Markle nor Harry have any social media. Gossip Cop sees stories all the time about them having public meltdowns, which is pretty impossible to do with no online presence. Considering the coordinated hate campaign on Twitter, it’s best for them to stay far away.
With no Instagram to send a photo and single sentence, there’s no easy way for Markle and Harry to wish Middleton a public happy birthday. We also know for a fact that the two will regularly do video calls with Queen Elizabeth, and send gifts for Christmas. Odds are very good that the two sent well wishes privately, and just didn’t see any need to do so publicly.
It’s very easy to generate controversy by checking what people aren’t saying, but with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it’s just not that simple. The two deliberately avoid controversies exactly like this one simply by not going on Twitter or Instagram.