Meghan Markle cropped out of Prince Harry’s birthday photo shared by royal family

Meghan Markle was cropped out of the birthday photo that the royal family shared online of her husband, Prince Harry.

On Sunday, the Duke of Sussex received birthday love on X from his father, King Charles III, and his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The photo they decided to use to mark Harry’s 40th trip around the sun was a 2018 image of him grinning ear to ear while visiting Dogpatch Labs in Dublin.

However, the original picture included his wife, Markle, smiling right beside him as they sat at a table with several others.

The shout-out marked the first time in three years that the royal family has publicly acknowledged Harry’s birthday.

“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” wrote the official X account of the royal family, which Charles’ office at Buckingham Palace runs.

The official account of the Prince and Princess of Wales reposted the message and added: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!”

The Post reported Harry would also receive a phone call from some of his estranged relatives on his special day.

After Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, Charles, 75, implemented a new protocol that limited social media posts to highlight only working members of the royal family.

The Invictus Games founder and the “Suits” alum, 43, quit their royal duties in January 2020.

Since leaving Europe and moving to North America, Harry has had a strained relationship with his father and older brother, William, 42.

The military veteran and Markle, who is biracial, have shared several negative stories about their time in the UK, including the royal family questioning how dark their son Archie’s skin would be when he was born.

Harry also spoke candidly about his estrangement from his family in his bombshell memoir, “Spare.”

Most recently, the prince was in the same room with William while attending their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes’ funeral in Snettisham, Norfolk, but the siblings did not interact.