Did Queen ignore Meghan Markle on her birthday? 'Notable absence' among royal wishes

The Queen congratulated Meghan privately but her official website neglected to mention her birthday

PUBLISHED AUG 5, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II sits and laughs with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire, England. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Meghan Markle celebrated her 41st birthday on August 4. There is no doubt that on her special day the Duchess of Sussex, who now lives in California with husband Prince Harry and their two children, must have received best wishes from several of her well-wishers and fans across the world.

However, it was not just that. Her in-laws from the UK also sent their birthday wishes to her publicly. From the Cambridges to Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, all said “happy birthday” to the former actress on social media. While Prince William and Kate Middleton wrote, “Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!” on their official Twitter page, @ClarenceHouse Twitter account declared: “Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! 🎈”

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Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! pic.twitter.com/HrYdCbe6N1
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) August 4, 2022

Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! 🎈 pic.twitter.com/r0LdKJ6ZZ1
— The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) August 4, 2022

Both the wishes accompanied two different photographs of Meghan. They were taken when she was in the UK for the monarch’s platinum jubilee celebrations. However, among all the wishes, one person who refrained from wishing Meghan publicly was the Queen herself.

Queen Elizabeth II sits with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire, England. Meghan Markle married Prince Harry last month to become The Duchess of Sussex and this is her first engagement with the Queen. During the visit the pair will open a road bridge in Widnes and visit The Storyhouse and Town Hall in Chester. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Did the Queen ignore Meghan Markle on her birthday?

The Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer called the Queen’s action a “notable absence”. But he also added that, “It is thought the Queen congratulated Meghan privately yesterday but her official website neglected to mention her birthday after deciding it will only mark the birthdays of non-working members of the family when they end in a zero.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Grover - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Though there have been several reports claiming the Sussexes are not in the good books of the royals, the pair have always stressed that they have nothing but respect for Her Majesty. During their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan had reportedly said: “The Queen has always been wonderful to me. I just really loved being in her company... she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.”

At the time, she also recalled her first meeting with the 96-year-old when she was yet to marry Harry. The Duchess also offered a sweet anecdote about a 2018 outing, where the Queen offered to share her blanket to keep Meghan warm, reported The Independent. “I thought genuinely that [curtsying] was what happens outside. I thought that was part of the fanfare. I didn’t think that was what happened inside. I said, ‘But it’s your grandmother.’ And he said, ‘It’s the queen.’ That was the first moment that the penny dropped,” Meghan added.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. The events over a long holiday weekend in the U.K. are meant to celebrate the monarch's 70 years of service. (Photo by Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

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Besides, Meghan and Harry also paid their respect to their grandmother by visiting the UK along with their children for her platinum jubilee events in June. They made sure that their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, who is named after the Queen, met her. Royal commentator Omid Scobie said at the time, “Those moments with Lilibet are very much private between them and the Queen and of course we know how much she’s been looking forward to it. They’ve been held back by a pandemic. Of course the times that Harry has been here it’s just been by himself for quite sombre occasions. And so this really was the first time.”