Today, September 15, marks Prince Harry’s 38th birthday.
It will be a very different birthday for the Royal though, as he is away from his Californian home and in the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’ s state funeral.
It is unlikely Harry will be celebrating his birthday, as he is helping prepare for the funeral on Monday, September 19, as part of the national period of mourning.
As per tradition, the Royal Family send one another a birthday message via social media, something that has been done for years now, especially between Prince William and Harry.
However, the brothers are allegedly caught in the middle of a ‘royal rift’ over disagreements regarding Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle.
But did Prince William put aside their differences to wish him a happy birthday last year, and what led them to his divide?
What happened between Prince William and Prince Harry?
The divide between Prince William and Prince Harry first became public when it was reported that that there was a disagreement during the Christmas 2018 period.
A source of royal reporter Katie Nicholl claimed that the two bothers fell out during that festive period when Harry told William that he wasn’t doing enough to include Meghan in the Royal Family.
Her source claimed: “Harry felt William wasn’t rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort.”
The fracture between the two started to become known as the ‘royal feud’, as the two were seen together at events not speaking to one another.
In May 2019, it appeared attempts were made to heal the alleged wounds between the brothers, as William and Kate Middleton visited Harry and Meghan Markle’s new home, Frogmore Cottage.
However, it wasn’t until October 2019 when Harry admitted the royal feud was in fact real during an interview on ITV’s documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.
He explained: “Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens.
“But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.
“We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but you know, I love him dearly.
“The majority of this stuff [in the press] is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.”
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan made their announcement that they were stepping away from their Royal duties and exiting the family as working members.
Since then, the brothers still appear to be estranged from one another, with Penguin publishing a memoir from Harry, something William is allegedly not keen on.
A source told The Sun that he’s refusing to see Harry until the book is published as he "feels he cannot trust his younger brother not to repeat their conversations."
Did Prince William wish Prince Harry a happy birthday last year?
Despite the differences between the brothers, Prince William did wish Prince Harry a happy birthday last year.
Via the official Twitter and Instagram accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, they simply wrote: “Happy Birthday Prince Harry!” followed by a balloon emoji.
Royal author Duncan Larcombe told The Sun at the time that William and Kate's "curt" message to Harry "only serves as proof the ice between the brothers has still not thawed".
He explained: “Short of ignoring the Duke of Sussex’s 37th landmark completely, their social media post was the bare minimum from a couple who once welcomed Harry as their official Royal gooseberry.
“If anything, this year’s birthday wishes from the Cambridges are an indication of just how far relations between the two warring clans have deteriorated over the past 12 months.”
