Prince William and Princess Kate Not Acknowledging Meghan Markle's Birthday Is "The Most Definite Snub," Commentator Says

Oof.

The Queen Attends A Service At Westminster Abbey Marking The Centenary Of WW1 Armistice
(Image credit: Getty/WPA Pool/Pool)

Prince William and Princess Kate are not friends with Meghan Markle right now, and sadly they showed this by not acknowledging the Duchess of Sussex' 42nd birthday publicly on social media on Aug. 4.

For one royal commentator, the Prince and Princess of Wales could fully have chosen to wish Meghan a happy birthday, but decided not to—which sends a clear message to their fans.

"The most definite snub is from Prince William and Kate since they aren’t bound by protocol at all," Hilary Fordwich told Express.

"Indeed, last year they posted on both their Twitter and Instagram accounts best wishes accompanying a photo of Meghan."

Yep, the then-Cambridges tweeted on Aug. 4, 2022, "Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!" alongside a photo of the duchess at the recent Platinum Jubilee. As such, you can't really make the case that they simply forgot to wish her a happy birthday this year.

"We certainly know they are social media savvy and actually did post on her birthday this year but not to her, but rather to send congratulatory comments to the documentary team who made the Rhino Man (a film by the Global Conservation Corps, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving wildlife through education)," Fordwich continued.

The tweet in question is over here, in case you're interested.

King Charles, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry

(Image credit: Getty)

Fordwich went on to comment on the King's similar failure to wish his daughter-in-law a happy birthday, explaining that—as the youths might say—if he wanted to, he would.

"So this year, King Charles not sending formal wishes, albeit viewed as a snub by many, is actually following protocol established by QEII," she began, but soon caveated this statement.

She continued, "Of course though, King Charles isn’t bound by previous protocol. If he wished he could certainly update it. He could also have established a new amended protocol of a differing manner. Therefore, the lack of any wishes certainly does indicate a less than warm fuzzy relationship with the Sussex wife."

Among the possible explanations for this snub are the passing of the late Queen, who could have been a peacemaking force behind the scenes (I'm speculating here, to be clear), as well as the publication of Prince Harry's explosive memoir Spare, which contained many revelations that will have been less than pleasing to the senior royals.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.