Why the royal family didn’t publicly mark Princess Lilibet’s third birthday

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.