The public greeting comes amid ongoing tensions between Harry and William, as well as Harry's strained relationship with King Charles. The royal family's post on X simply read: "Happy 40th birthday to the Duke of Sussex today!" with a cheerful image of Harry and a cake emoji.

Now living in California after stepping back from royal duties, Harry celebrated with Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet, and is planning another celebration with friends. Harry turned 40 and faced a challenging year for the royal family, not least due to health issues affecting both the King and the Princess of Wales, although Kate had just completed chemotherapy.

Earlier this year, Harry made a brief visit to the UK due to the King's poor health, but their meeting lasted just 45 minutes. In a BBC interview about turning 40, Harry said he was nervous about turning 30 but was excited about the milestone. His year included activities such as snowmobiling with Invictus athletes in Canada and semi-official visits to Colombia and Nigeria.

During her conference in Colombia, Meghan mentioned that Lilibet had "completely found her voice". The couple also renamed their Archewell website to Sussex.com, marking it as the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan. In May, Harry attended the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in London without seeing his brother or father. Birmingham will host the next games in 2027, with Harry expressing his excitement for the event.