THE Royals are expected to share Meghan Markle 40th birthday messages “through gritted teeth as they don’t want to make the rift worse” says an expert.
Princes William and Harry have not as yet mended their fractured relationship after the Sussexes levelled hurtful allegations against the Royal family.
Since Meghan and Prince Harry stepped away from official royal duties and quit the UK for a mansion in America, they’ve rocked family by publicly slamming them with continuous damaging accusations.
And there are fears that the growing divide between Harry and his brother may never be fixed as William finds it “impossible to trust him again”, pals fear.
The Royal family is still smarting from its depiction in Meghan and Harry’s explosive TV interview with Oprah Winfrey as aloof, uncaring and tinged with racism – which they vehemently deny.
During that chat the Duchess of Sussex also claimed she was prevented from seeking mental health support when she was in crisis.
But with Meghan blowing out 40 candles on her birthday cake on Wednesday, it’s expected that the very public fall-out will briefly be put to one side.
Royal commentator Phil Dampier told the Sun Online that Meghan will expect positive messages from her in-laws.
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He predicted: “I think it is likely they will send a public message through gritted teeth.
“But whether a present will be sent privately, I don’t know, such is the state of the relationship.
“I think Charles, the Queen, and William and Kate don’t want to make the situation worse by having a public slanging match with them, but privately I think they are very upset by how things have turned out.
“They’re not obliged to give her messages on her birthday, but they don’t want to make the it worse.”
Mr Dampier said the royal family will be “hoping that Harry is running out of ammunition” to use against them – for example during bombshell revelations in the Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview.
“Harry’s book is hanging over them now… it’s difficult to see where it is going to go now, but I think in public they will put up a front of having a relationship.
“But privately, I don’t think there is much communication going on,” he said.
‘PR GAMES’
Royal author Adam Helliker told The Celeb Report he expected all the various Royal households to send “perfunctory birthday greetings, including Prince Charles and Camilla”.
He added that the Cambridges would also wish Meghan a Happy Birthday, because if they failed to to it would be seen as “sour grapes from William and Kate”.
“But given what I understand, any kind of communication is just between Kate and Harry,” Mr Helliker said.
Asked whether it’s likely Meghan would be sent a gift from the Royal family, he replied: “Given that both sides are playing a PR game there would be leak on William and Kate’s side to hear what it is if there is one – but what could you get?”
QUESTION OVER GIFT
Another royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, told The Celeb Report he was ‘sure’ the Royal family “will be in touch with Meghan. They will wish her ‘Happy Birthday’.
“They normally do so for birthdays.
“But I wouldn’t know if they’d send anything and it’s unlikely that we will find out.
“We wouldn’t be told if anything special will be sent.”
Meghan’s 40th birthday celebrations come amid a difficult time for the warring Royals.
Insiders fear the brothers’ shattered bond may never be fixed.
And Harry’s looming memoir is considered as the “final nail in the coffin” by the Royal family – with the Windsors facing “turmoil” for a year before its release, it has been claimed.
Timing is also a concern to palace insiders, with some concerned the book’s publication in 2022 could overshadow a trio of significant royal milestones.
These are the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, as well as Prince William’s 40th birthday and the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.
Mr Dampier explained that it “is very difficult for the Cambridges, not knowing what is going to be said” in Harry’s pending memoir.
For example, “if he names the person they claimed made a racist remark”.
Millions of Brits watched in horror in March as Prince Harry and Meghan accused an unnamed senior royal of being racist — over the colour of their son Archie.
In the most damaging of a series of incendiary claims made to talk show host Oprah Winfrey, the exiled couple alleged the unnamed royal had quizzed them on “how dark” he would be.
Prince Charles later said he felt “enormously let down” by their allegations, with Prince William insisting the Royal family is “very much NOT racist”, and the ‘saddened’ Queen saying in a statement that “some recollections may vary”.
