Meghan Markle has been dealt what appears to be a fresh blow as members of the Firm fail to publicly wish her a happy birthday.
The Duchess of Sussex turns 42 today (Friday, August 4) but it has so far been a relatively quiet affair, with no social media greetings from her estranged royal relatives.
Expert Kinsey Schofield says the decision to snub the ex-Suits star's birthday shows strength from senior royals.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle dealt huge blow after birthday poem 'shared only 200 times' despite plea
"I think it shows the world that the King and Royal Family has a backbone," she told the Daily Star.
"Harry and Meghan have been incredibly selfish and destructive over the last few years.
"It's understandable and likely highly advised by their PR experts to distance themselves from Harry and Meghan."
In previous years – even since she and Prince Harry sensationally quit the Royal Family in 2020 – Meghan would typically receive well wishes on her big day.
When the Sussexes first moved to America, the late Queen Elizabeth shared a post on the Royal Family's Instagram account captioned: "Wishing The Duchess of Sussex a very happy birthday."
How Meghan Markle celebrated her first and last birthday in Royal Family as she turns 42
The accompanying snap showed Meghan grinning beside Her late Majesty during a royal outing.
Prince William and Kate Middleton and Charles and Camilla also sent birthday wishes from their respective joint Instagram accounts.
In 2021, members of the Firm took to Twitter (now X) where they shared throwback pics of Meghan in recognition of the big day.
William and Kate wrote: "Wishing a happy 40th birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!" while the Royal Family's official account shared pictures of Meghan and Harry together as well as snaps of her with the Queen, captioning the post: "Wishing The Duchess of Sussex a very Happy Birthday today!"
And last year pictures of Meghan were shared to many of the official Instagram pages, but with a difference.
Rather than posting to their profiles, royals instead opted to share posts on their Stories, which disappear after 24 hours – although 2022's Twitter posts were similar to the year before.
This year there's been public silence from the Palace for the Duchess' birthday, an indication that the relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family remains frosty.
And it's not the only time Meghan has suffered a birthday disappointment.
The Duchess was dealt a huge blow two years ago when she urged fans to get behind her newly-launched 40×40 campaign – only for a promotional poem to be shared just 200 times.
The 40×40 project aimed to have 40 famous women offer 40 minutes of their time to women wanting to get back into work.
Launching the campaign she made a video calling for her A-list pals to donate their time to "help women re-entering the workforce".
And in a statement on the website for Archewell – the Sussexes' brand – she requested just one birthday gift from her fans – that they share a readymade Instagram post with the hashtags #40×40 and #CompassionInAction.
The artwork for the poem reads: "For women who give everything, we give our time. Are you in?"
The Sun analysed Instagram posts made in the first 24 hours after the launch of the campaign and claimed only 217 public posts sharing the poem using the #40×40 hashtag.
However, the analysis did not include Twitter posts, private shares or Instagram Stories.
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