Princess Lilibet turned three on Tuesday. Despite being a member of the British royal family, neither her grandfather King Charles nor her uncle Prince William and his wife Princess Kate acknowledged her birthday on their social media accounts.
The reason is straightforward and not malicious: senior royals typically only celebrate the birthdays of working members of the royal family on their official platforms.
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 birthday wishes from the royal family on his fifth birthday last month.
Nonetheless, it’s likely that the young California-based Princess received a private greeting from her grandfather, King Charles, who, although he has only met her a few times, surely holds his youngest grandchild dear to his heart.
Additionally, the Sussexes celebrated little Lili’s special day with a pre-birthday celebration over the weekend. According to People, Harry and Meghan hosted an intimate party at their Montecito home, attended by close friends, family, and some of Lili’s young pals. Based on their previous children’s parties, it was undoubtedly a low-key, fun-filled event.
