Happy birthday Princess Lilibet!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter turned three on Tuesday, and while she is a member of the British family, neither her grandfather King Charles nor her uncle Prince William and his wife Princess Kate greeted her publicly on their social media accounts.
The explanation is simple, and nothing sinister: senior royals tend to only mark the birthdays of working members of the royal family on their official platforms.
HELLO!'s Online Royal Correspondent Danielle Stacey has previously explained: "In recent years and certainly since King Charles III's reign began in September 2022, we have only seen public messages from the royal family's social media accounts for working members of the royal family, such as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Princess Royal.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020, and no longer carry out royal duties.
"Similarly, the palace doesn't typically share messages on the likes of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall's birthdays nor their children's special days."
This also explains why Lilibet's older brother Prince Archie didn't receive any public well-wishes from the royal family on his fifth birthday last month.
However, it's likely that the young California-based Princess will have received a private greeting from her grandfather King Charles, who has only met her a handful of times but who no doubt holds his youngest grandchild dear in his heart.
Lili's pre-birthday bash
The Sussexes celebrated little Lili's special day with a pre-birthday celebration at the weekend.
According to People, Harry and Meghan threw an intimate bash at their home in Montecito that included close friends, family, and some of Lili's young pals.
Judging by their children's previous parties, it was no doubt a low-key, fun-filled affair.
Her first birthday party
For Lili's first birthday in 2022, which was held in Windsor as the family were visiting for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Harry and Meghan threw a "casual, intimate backyard picnic," as described by their spokesperson.
Fans were given a glimpse of the celebration in the couple's Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which showed Archie helping Lili blow out her birthday candle on her pink and floral-themed cake.
© NetflixSweet, chatty children
Last month during a trip to Nigeria, Meghan opened up about her kids, describing them as "very sweet, chatty children".
She also revealed that Lili's favourite class was "singing and dancing," probably because of "all the jumping around".
LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!
If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with all things royalty – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we’ve launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club. We would love you to join us there…
What is it?
Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle.
Member benefits
- Two weekly newsletters, one from Emily Nash
- Video posts and audio notes from Emily Nash and the HELLO! Royal team
- Access to our royal community and opportunity to interact with club writers and members
- Participate in polls, comments and discussion threads
- Royal-themed puzzles with a weekly prize to be won
- Access to our Ask Me Anything sessions with our journalists
- Invitations to in-person and virtual events
- A subscription to the digital edition of HELLO! Magazine (Worth £82 annually)*
- Future ‘Inner Circle’ benefits
By royal decree
You are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!
