King Charles surprised many when he set aside ongoing tensions within the royal family to publicly wish his youngest son, Prince Harry, a happy 40th birthday.
The King shared a brief but heartfelt message that was posted on the Royal Family’s social media accounts, accompanied by a seemingly ordinary photo of Harry smiling in a grey suit. The message read: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”
The Story Behind King Charles’ Birthday Photo for Harry
While the gesture itself was notable, it was the choice of the photograph that caught people’s attention. Many questioned why such a understated image was selected, especially given the wide variety of photos available of the prince.
According to journalist Kevin Maher, writing for The Times, there are several reasons why the royal family chose this particular picture.
Maher suggests that the family was likely restricted in its options due to the sensitive nature of recent events. He explained that more recent photos couldn’t be used because many of them were tied to Harry and Meghan’s unofficial trip to Colombia, which might have caused further friction.
“Using photos from that trip would have felt like a misstep for the Royal Family,” he noted.
Additionally, images of Harry engaging in activities such as playing polo were also off the table, as these could have been seen as promoting his upcoming Netflix series centered around the sport.
There was also the delicate matter of avoiding any images of Harry with his older brother, Prince William. Given the well-publicized rift between the two, such photos could evoke memories of their past disagreements, including Harry’s accounts of physical altercations in his memoir Spare.
The article from The Times also pointed out that including King Charles or the Princess of Wales in the picture could have led to an unintended narrative about how certain members of the royal family are handling personal and public duties, while Harry focuses on media ventures from his California home.
Including Meghan in the photo was also deemed inappropriate, as it could spark renewed criticism following their controversial Netflix documentary.
Despite the careful thought that went into selecting this seemingly neutral photo, the King’s gesture of publicly wishing Harry a happy birthday was echoed by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
They too shared the same image on their social media accounts, posting a similarly brief message: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!”