Meghan Markle turned 45 on August 4, and once again, Buckingham Palace stayed quiet. No tweet, no Instagram post, no official well-wishes from the family she married into eight years ago.
For a woman who was once tagged in birthday posts by Clarence House and Kensington Palace alike, the silence has become the story every single year. But this time, something is different.
Markle’s birthday arrived on the heels of a private audience with King Charles at his royal residence in Highgrove last month, sparking speculation that the long-frozen relationship between the two might finally be thawing.
Did Meghan Markle Get Snubbed Again This Year?
Publicly, yes. Royal protocol held, and there was no public birthday message for the Duchess. That tracks with a pattern that goes back years.
Back in 2022, William and Kate and even Charles and Camilla posted birthday tweets for Meghan. By 2023, that stopped completely, and the official accounts for both couples went silent, in sharp contrast to the year before, when Meghan’s 41st birthday was marked with a public message and photo from the Kensington Royal account.
This year carries more weight because of what happened just weeks earlier. Archie and Lilibet finally visited Charles and Camilla at Highgrove House in July, and the icy relations between the Sussexes and the royals appear to be on the mend, even if nobody is expecting a public celebration for Meghan’s big day.
Royal commentator Tom Sykes told Page Six he still expects some kind of gesture behind closed doors. He said the king is a scrupulously polite man and that he would be quite certain Charles would want to wish his daughter-in-law well.
“Birthday wishes to a private citizen would be sent privately,” Sykes added.
Royal correspondent Jennie Bond echoed that sentiment, telling the Mirror there could be a private phone call or a card sent along, even though nothing formal would show up on social media.
Bond also pointed out why bringing Meghan along on the Highgrove trip mattered so much for the kids, noting that Archie and Lilibet deserved to see family harmony rather than having to explain why their mother wasn’t invited.
What This Means For Meghan and the Royals Going Forward
The bigger picture here isn’t really about a tweet. It’s about whether the Sussexes and the royal family can rebuild anything resembling a real relationship after years of public fallout, a Netflix docuseries, and Harry’s memoir Spare.
A private gesture from Charles, even something as small as a card sent through staff, would be a notable shift from the outright radio silence of the past few birthdays.
Meghan reportedly kept things low-key at home in Montecito for the milestone, sticking with the same understated approach she’s taken in past years rather than throwing a big celebrity bash. A source close to the Duchess told Hello! that this year was no different from the ones before it.