Originally appeared on E! Online
Prince Harry got a royal surprise for a milestone birthday: Public well-wishes from his family.
His brother Prince William and father King Charles III shared identical tributes to him as he turned 40 Sept. 15, following three years of radio silence about him on social media amid a family rift.
A post on the Royal family’s Instagram read, “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” Prince William and wife Kate Middleton wrote on their Instagram Stories, “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to the Duke of Sussex.”
It marked their first birthday tribute to Prince Harry since 2021, when the family sent their well-wishes to him on X, formerly Twitter.
Happy Birthday Prince Harry! 🎈 pic.twitter.com/Lw1nR9wNDl
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 15, 2021
In their Instagram Stories message, Prince William and Middleton reshared the Royal family’s Instagram post that included a July 2018 photo of Prince Harry smiling during a visit to DogPatch Labs, a coworking space for technology startups in Dublin, Ireland.
The pic was taken two month after the duke married Meghan Markle. Less than two years later, the two announced their decision to step down as senior royals.
The couple’s 2020 exit from the monarchy and move to the United States spurred a rift between Prince Harry and the Royal family. Tensions continued to mount amid comments he and Markle made about his relatives in the press and the release of his controversial 2023 tell-all memoir Spare.
He blames the British tabloids and his family’s unwillingness to join him in his legal fight against many of them over their coverage of him and his wife as a major reason for the family rift.
Despite tensions with the Royal family, Harry and Meghan have occasionally returned to the United Kingdom for visits.
This past February, Prince Harry flew to London to visit his father after the King was diagnosed with cancer. Middleton shared weeks later that she has also been undergoing cancer treatment and announced earlier this month that she had completed her chemotherapy regimen.
In 2023, Prince Harry attended Charles’ 2023 coronation, although he sat away from Prince William and did not join the family on a Buckingham Palace balcony after the ceremony, opting instead to head to the airport. The previous year, he and Markle were both present at Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral in 2022, days after the duke’s 38th birthday.
Prince Harry recently shared his thoughts on turning 40.
“I was anxious about 30, I’m excited about 40,” He told BBC in a statement on Sept. 13. “Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world.”
The duke, who shares kids Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3, with Markle, added that he plans on spending his actual birthday with his family before going on a celebratory trip with some friends.
“Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life, as well as sharpening my focus in all my work,” he added. “Being a dad is one of life’s greatest joys and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry met some young children on the latest stop of their tour of Colombia. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the school Colegio La Giralda in Bogota on Day Two of their international trip.
