The Royal Family shuts down claims it deliberately cropped Meghan Markle out of Prince Harry birthday post

The Royal Family shuts down claims it deliberately cropped Meghan Markle out of Prince Harry birthday post
Buckingham Palace has firmly denied claims that Meghan Markle was intentionally cropped out of a birthday post for Prince Harry, insisting the image was shared as received from a photo agency.

Royal Family wishes Prince Harry ‘a very happy birthday’ in social media post
The Royal Family has denied claims that it deliberately cropped Meghan Markle out of a social media photo marking Prince Harry’s 40th birthday.

On Sunday, King Charles and Queen Camilla shared a birthday message on Instagram and X for Prince Harry, using a 2018 photo in which Meghan Markle was noticeably absent.

“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” the post read, accompanied by a pink birthday cake emoji.

🎂 Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today! pic.twitter.com/sAlSiV9EaZ

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 15, 2024
Re-shared by Prince William and Princess Catherine, the post marked the first official birthday mention of the Duke of Sussex in three years, leading some to wonder if it signalled a possible thaw in the family’s strained relationship with Harry.

However, the absence of Meghan Markle in the photo quickly drew attention, with some questioning if her exclusion was deliberate.

The original photo, taken in 2018 when Harry and Meghan were still working royals, featured the Duke smiling alongside his wife at an event in Dublin, Ireland.

Meghan was seen laughing and chatting with other attendees.

Despite the speculation, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson has firmly denied any manipulation of the image.

A spokesman for the palace has insisted the image shared on the family’s official accounts was unaltered from its original version that had been provided by a photo agency.

The royal family has fevently denied claims it purposely snubbed Meghan Markle in Prince Harry birthday post.
The spokesman told the Independent on Monday that at the time of the event photos of the Duke of Sussex, licenced by Getty Images, were taken from several different angles.

This isn’t the first time the Royal Family has found themselves embroiled in a photo editing controversy.

Last December, Prince William and Princess Catherine faced scrutiny over several editing errors in their 2023 Christmas post, which included an extra leg and a missing finger for Prince Louis.

Then, in a Mother’s Day post, a photo of Princess Catherine and her children also attracted attention due to noticeable distortions, with Louis’ finger appearing elongated and the Duchess’ hand blurred around his waist.

At the time, Princess Catherine was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, and it was said she felt “absolutely miserable” about the error.

The mother-of-three admitted she had been experimenting with editing and immediately apologised for causing confusion.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the Princess of Wales wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) via the official Kensington Palace account.

“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C”