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Prince Harry celebrated his 40th birthday on Sep. 15, and for a minute there it looked like the happy occasion was going to mend years of family feuding in the time it takes to blow out some birthday candles, thanks to a surprising social media message. Prince William and Kate Middleton broke their silence on all things Sussex-related by posting a happy birthday message to their estranged brother and brother-in-law, shocking the internet in the process.
This very much felt like an olive branch being extended, but then we soon witnessed that branch being snapped violently in half when sources came forward maintaining that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “not welcome back at all,” despite the friendly-seeming comment. Once you look a little closer at the Prince and Princess of Wales’ post, however, it suddenly becomes much less friendly and more formulaic, as the true message William was sending his brother becomes clear.
Two missing letters tell us all we need to know about what William really wanted to say to Harry on his 40th birthday
As we have reported before, insider sources have since come forward to reveal what the deal with the Waleses’ message to Harry was really all about. The sad truth is that it’s understood to simply be “a company thing,” a box-ticking gesture to avoid any bad PR from people online criticizing the Royals for not acknowledging the birthday of the king’s second son. This goes for both the Royal Family’s message and also for the one sent from William and Kate’s official pages.
The key to picking up on the impersonal nature of the message, despite how it appears, is in the absence of the couple’s typical send-off. Anytime, the prince and princess pen a message to the world themselves, they will always sign off “W&C,” for William and Catherine. The lack of the personal touch on this birthday wish to Harry proves that this was indeed “a company thing” and not in any way a sentiment the future king and queen wished to express.
The fact that it was written by the Waleses’ social media manager can also be determined by the way it’s only a slight rewording of the family’s original message. Obviously, this brief sentence was all the Royals were willing and prepared to offer about Harry at this time. The true message hidden beneath the one shared with the public, then, is that they actually have nothing to say to him. As one Royal insider summarized, “It was just a company thing. Happy birthday blah blah blah.”
The Royals are known to have started many a popular trend, but personally I can’t see that getting put in greeting cards anytime soon. At least, Harry is understood to have enjoyed a birthday party at his home at Montecito, California, as thrown for him by Meghan, before going off on a “lad’s holiday” with his friends. Just don’t expect William to host a belated brotherly birthday get-together when Harry returns to the U.K. later this month.