Meghan Markle Wasn't Cropped Out of Prince Harry's 40th Birthday Post by the Royal Family

Over the weekend, it was alleged that Buckingham Palace had cropped Meghan Markle out of a photo used on Instagram to celebrate Prince Harry's 40th birthday. However, royal sources claim that King Charles and Queen Camilla didn't crop Duchess Meghan out of anything.

In a sweet social media post, Charles and Camilla sent birthday wishes to Harry on his milestone birthday. They used a photo of the Duke of Sussex smiling, which was taken during a visit to the Dogpatch startup hub in Dublin in July 2018. Prince William and Princess Kate shared Charles and Camilla's post, along with their own message to Harry.

While it's true that Meghan was present at the 2018 visit to Dublin, the photo in question wasn't altered by the Royal Family. "The Duchess was not cropped out by Buckingham Palace," royal sources reportedly told Us Weekly. "The image was provided to them by a picture agency, as a complete stand-alone image of The Duke."

Some royal fans were shocked when King Charles and Prince William shared rare public birthday messages to Prince Harry. However, the Express reported that the royals were simply following protocol.

"Although Harry is no longer a working member of the Royal Family, the public greetings come after the late Queen set a social media rule before her death that non-working members of the royal family can have their birthdays celebrated on official social media channels for milestone birthdays ending in 0," the Express reported.

Ahead of his birthday, the Duke of Sussex shared a statement with the BBC, saying, "I was anxious about 30, I’m excited about 40." He continued, "Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world."

As well as reportedly having a small celebration with friends and family, Prince Harry attended the George Zajfen Tennis Tournament in Los Angeles on his birthday. The event was held in honor of George Zajfen, the late son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's friends Kelly McKee Zajfen and Julian Zajfen.