The Royal Family chose a photograph without Meghan Markle to mark Prince Harry’s 40th birthday on September 15.

An alleged slight by Buckingham Palace against Meghan Markle on Prince Harry’s birthday message has been debunked after the Royal Family shared a photo of the Duke for his 40th birthday.

The Royal Family surprised many by sending birthday wishes to the Duke of Sussex to mark his 40th birthday on Sunday, September 15. The image chosen shows a smiling Harry dressed in a smart grey suit. The original image – which is said to have been taken in July 2018 – appears to show Meghan sat next to him.

Speaking of speculation that the Royal Family had chosen to crop Meghan out of the image chosen for their birthday tribute to her husband, Getty Images confirmed to the Mirror that the photo is a pool image collected from a non-Getty Images photographer. They also added that it is “standard practice to crop images to get singles, as has been done here”.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed to the Independent that it had not cropped the photo which was used as it was received.

This comes after it is said the royal, who now resides in the US, is thought to have spent his birthday with Meghan Markle and their two children at their multi-million-pound home in Montecito. He is then said to have headed away for a gathering with close friends.

In a recent statement to BBC News, Harry expressed how he felt about turning 40. The statement read: “I was anxious about 30, I’m excited about 40.”