Prince William turned 37 on June 21, but while Kensington Palace and other royal households celebrated his birthday on their official Instagram accounts, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex failed to do so. (At the time of publishing this article – in the early evening in the U.K. – Prince Harry, 34, and his wife, Meghan Markle, 37, had yet to wish him a Happy Birthday on their page.)
However, the official Sussex Royal Instagram account did acknowledge Prince William’s birthday, by sliding into the comments section on a Kensington Royal post and picture, celebrating the Duke of Cambridge’s big day. “Thank you everyone for your lovely wishes on The Duke of Cambridge’s birthday!” the caption next to a photo of William read. Sussex Royal then wrote, “Happy Birthday to The Duke of Cambridge!”
The short, seven-word long greeting infuriated royal fans who responded to the comment by scolding the couple. “@sussexroyal wishing your brothers [sic] just like this is so useless 🙃 sharing a photo with a kind message would be so nice ❤🙃,” one person wrote. “@sussexroyal so cold and impersonal!” another person added, while one fan wrote, “@sussexroyal – wow, pretty cold. And petty. Grow up.”
The greeting only adds fuel to the flames of a bitter feud between Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, 37, and Prince Harry and Meghan. It also comes the day after Kensington Palace formerly announced that the Sussexes are splitting from the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation to set up their own charity.
While Prince Harry and Meghan didn’t acknowledge Prince William’s birthday with an individual post on their Instagram page, other royal households did. Clarence House’s social media channels acknowledged the birth of the second in line to the throne by sharing a 1984 photo of Prince Charles playing with his firstborn, who was then a toddler. “Happy Birthday to HRH The Duke of Cambridge, who turns 37 today,” the caption read. The Royal Family’s official Instagram page shared a series of photos of Prince William throughout his life, while wishing him a Happy Birthday.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex have only had their own, separate Instagram account since April 2019. However, in that time they have acknowledged the birthdays of other senior royal members. On April 21, they wished Queen Elizabeth a Happy 93rd Birthday, captioning a series of photos of her with the words, “Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Ma’am, Granny. Wishing you the most wonderful day! 🎈Harry & Meghan.” They also gushed over the Duke of Edinburgh on June 10 when he turned 98, captioning a series of pics of him, “Wishing His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, Sir, Grandpa a very Happy 98th Birthday! 🎂.”
Of course, there is no indication that the Sussexes didn’t celebrate Prince William’s birthday with him warmly in person, privately.