The Royal Family leave Meghan Markle out in the cold on her 42nd birthday

It’s been several days since she celebrated her 42nd birthday but Meghan Markle has yet to receive any public birthday wishes from the Royal Family.

While members of The Firm often make a point of celebrating the birthdays of royal family members through their various social media accounts, this year it was crickets as senior royal members failed to recognise Markle’s big day.

Many would likely theorise that the radio silence is largely due to the ongoing tensions between the former Duchess and her in-laws.

However, crisis communications expert and founder of public relations firm 10 Yetis, Andy Barr told The Mirror that the Royal Family may not want any public messaging to be “overanalysed” by the public and are just simply avoiding a tricky situation.

Regardless of the strategy that the Royal Family may be adopting, Barr said this year’s snub says more than words ever could.

“Sometimes the most powerful message you can send is when you say absolutely nothing,” he explained.

“I am sure that there will have been communications behind the scenes to wish her a happy birthday but the social media silence is the most British snub you could imagine.”

While Markle won’t be placing any royal birthday cards on the mantle this year, in 2022 the Royal Family were more than happy to send their best for her 41st birthday, with the likes of Prince William and King Charles delivering birthday messages at the time.

Prince William and Princess Catherine were the first to deliver their good wishes, taking to Twitter to “wish a happy birthday to the Duchess of Sussex!”, alongside a photo of Markle as she attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, 2022.

Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! pic.twitter.com/HrYdCbe6N1

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) August 4, 2022

Charles and Camilla soon followed suit, wishing their daughter-in-law a happy birthday alongside a similar photo from previous Jubilee celebrations.

Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! ???? pic.twitter.com/r0LdKJ6ZZ1

— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) August 4, 2022

Although the messages were brief, royal watchers were hopeful it signalled a major step forward in relations between the Sussexes and members of the Royal Family, hopes that have likely now been dashed following this year’s icy response.

Harry and Meghan courted controversy when they stepped down as senior members of the royal family in January 2020.

They added further fuel to the fire with a series of high-profile interviews and a Netflix documentary where they laid bare their grievances which included being unable to contend with relentless media scrutiny and the lack of support from other members of the royal camp.

The devastatingly public airing of the royal laundry has led to an ongoing feud between the Sussexes and their estranged family across the pond.

The couple now reside in Santa Barbara, California with their two children Archie and Lilibet.