Prince William and King Charles Wish Prince Harry Happy 40th Birthday in Surprise Gesture amid Ongoing Rift

The Duke of Sussex received birthday greetings from William and Kate on their X and Instagram accounts, in addition to the official Royal Family social media profiles.

There have been some surprising royal birthday greetings for Prince Harry.

The Duke of Sussex turned 40 on Sunday, September 15, and the royal family officially recognized Harry’s birthday for the first time since 2021. His father, King Charles, 76, and brother, Prince William, 42, both shared postings on social media to mark the historic occasion.

The King Charles office at Buckingham Palace manages the official Royal Family social media profiles. A post on these accounts honored Harry’s milestone birthday with a straightforward message.

“🎂 Sending warm wishes for The Duke of Sussex’s 40th birthday today!” the post’s description said, accompanied by a picture of the Duke grinning.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, meantime, added their own joyous greeting to the Royal Family’s post and posted it on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram Stories.

“Happy 40th Birthday, Duke of Sussex,” was the message written above the picture.

PEOPLE are aware that Harry will celebrate turning 40 on Sunday, September 15, in a private setting in Montecito with close family and friends. Harry is then anticipated to travel overseas with close pals to continue the celebrations.

The joyous posts are unexpected since, although they are periodically made for milestone birthdays, public birthday greetings are typically only sent to working royals. Many view these first birthday greetings from Prince William and King Charles as a potential outreach given the current tension between Harry and his brother and his tense relationship with their father.

Sources revealed to PEOPLE in July that Harry’s attempts to communicate with Prince William via texts, calls, and messages were met with the same disregard as his attempts to reach out to King Charles through letters and phone conversations.

The royal insider clarified that although the breach with Prince William was “very bad,” it was not “irreparable.”

Prince Harry did not meet with Prince William or the King when he came back to the United Kingdom in May 2024 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. The King and Harry didn’t communicate at the time, according to the Duke of Sussex’s representative, who blamed the monarch’s “full schedule.” Harry has been battling for security in court for more than four years, and according to people close to him, his father has the authority to reinstate him, so it’s possible that he wanted to talk about it. (A royal source previously told PEOPLE that the idea that Harry’s security is in Charles’s hands is “wholly incorrect.”) Buckingham royal will not comment on security measures.

Sharp criticism and unsolved emotions have characterized the family divide that first came to light in 2020 when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, withdrew from their royal duties. But security is still the most unanswered question for Harry.

The father and son had a good meeting in February after the King’s cancer diagnosis, but their relationship has since soured. According to those close to Prince Harry, the queen no longer answers his son’s calls or mails him.

“He gets ‘unavailable right now,'” a PEOPLE acquaintance of Harry’s stated. His calls are not returned. He has made attempts to inquire about the King’s condition, but his calls are also not returned.”