Meghan Markle Did Not Receive a Public Message From Royal Family On 42nd Birthday

On Friday, Meghan Markle celebrated her 42nd birthday with friends in Santa Barbara, California, bringing a group of friends to see Barbie. Prince Harry appeared to stay home for the event. There was no sign of celebration from Buckingham Palace, though the royal family traditionally wishes happy birthday to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on social media.

Last year, they shared a photo of Meghan on Twitter to mark the occasion of her 41st birthday on the Kensington Royal account.

There were no specific messages from King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and or Princess Kate either. TMZ reports that a representative for the Palace said that they generally don’t mark birthdays for every member of the royal family, especially if they’re not a working royal. Of course, Meghan and Harry stepped back from their duties as working royals in 2020 before moving to California.

After landing there, they quickly made media deals for an alleged $100 million at Netflix and $20 million at Spotify. They have since parted ways with Spotify and produced a docuseries called Harry & Meghan at Netflix in 2022, which was snubbed by the Emmys. In reports from People and Us Weekly in early August, sources said that the couple have been adjusting to life in Hollywood and what would be successful in the media landscape.

“The attention, commotion, and hubbub was wrapped up in the fact that Harry is a royal, and people threw money at them with hopes and dreams that it would translate into success,” an insider explained. “But I think it’s been a rude awakening for everyone—it’s like they built a house with no foundation. The royal element, and in some ways the drama around them, inflated the price, deals, and expectations.”

A source also close to Meghan’s Archetypes’ podcast production said Spotify gave them “no formal lay of the land to kick things off, so they were already on unsteady footing even before the ink was dry.”

Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.