Maybe I’m getting too jaded about these royal “controversies,” but didn’t they seem a lot more urgent and more exciting (in a terrible way) last fall? These days, the smear campaign against the Duchess of Sussex is still happening, but it just isn’t the same daily grind of sh-tty, racist, misogynistic crap. This weekend, people were getting mad about… the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wishing Prince William a “happy birthday” on Instagram. Seriously, this was actually a thing that people had feelings about. The issue was that the SussexRoyal Instagram account did not create a special Instagram post paying tribute to Normal Bill on his birthday. No, the Sussexes just went on the KensingtonRoyal Instagram marking William’s birthday – that AWFUL photo of William, my lord – and someone simply wrote “Happy Birthday to the Duke of Cambridge.” No emojis, scandal!! LOL.
Prince William turns 37 today and the Kensington Palace Instagram account did a special birthday tribute to the heir to the throne. But surprisingly, there was radio silence from the Sussex Royal account, in the wake of Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, splitting from the Fab Four’s joint charity foundation. Despite doing a congratulatory post for “grandpa” Prince Philip, who turned 98 on June 10, the couple didn’t do a separate post for William.
Editor in Chief Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward told Fabulous Digital that the lack of warmth for William could be taken as a snub at Kensington Palace. She said: “I think it’s a snub if they don’t leave one for Prince William as they did for the Duke and for the Queen. If they don’t I think it’s pretty rude and will certainly be construed as purposeful. That is the trouble with Instagram it becomes your slave. But it’s not as if it’s a cousin or a friend – it’s Harry’s big brother.”
My lord. We’re really talking about this, huh? It’s not a snub – they marked Will’s birthday with a comment. If they had gone completely silent, I might agree with Seward that there was some kind of snub. As it is, I find the simplicity of the birthday message to be hilariously terse and perfunctory. It’s clear Will and Harry are still having issues, but few of these royal commentators really want to admit it. So we’re talking about birthday Instagrams instead.
Also: it’s clear that the Sussexes are quite choosy about where and how they create Instagram content, and it’s also clear that certain royal figures – Philip, the Queen, maybe Charles – will always be “deserving” of a ‘gram. It seems that William isn’t as deserving. Or maybe it was because it wasn’t a milestone birthday – 37 is not 40. Maybe when he turns 40, the Sussexes will do a stand-alone ‘gram. Or maybe people should stop overreacting to what the Sussexes post or don’t post.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN and Avalon Red.
FFS, the press are really egging things on – we know the brothers were/are beefing but this is just attention seeking by twits like Seward and click bait for the press.
Also that photo is just horrible on so many levels – its clearly meant to show manly William working hard for his causes but am not sure its been seen that way.
The photo just looks like a middle aged man on vacation. Really odd photo to choose.
Ingred Seward, character assassin extraordinaire of Di – even after she passed away! She can’t help herself. Take any comment of hers with a grain of salt. No more than a shizen stirrer in pearls.
Um…it’s instagram. Just because a birthday wish wasn’t posted on public domain doesn’t mean that they didn’t communicate at all on William’s birthday.
I’ve actually made a point of excluding birthday/anniversary/etc posts from my social media because who am I actually posting it for? It’s not really for the person to whom you are sending the well-wishes; it’s for likes and comments.
IKR?! Whenever someone does it it’s just a weird vibe like, “pay attention to me, I am a person who has a sibling who is having a birthday!”
When your grandfather turns 98 and your grandmother turns 94, you better do a full post because it may well be their last birthday.
No, you go visit them. Sheesh.
Bean
Both. Especially when you and your grandparents are public figures. You do a full post on your publicity centered IG. Go visit them in private.
Wigletwatcher: red in the face right now; I didn’t even consider whose grandmother & grandfather were referenced! I was just thinking of us non-famous/non-royal types.
People gave out when they addressed Princess Charlotte as “just” Charlotte in their message on her birthday and said that they were being disrespectful. When they went with the the title for William they were accused of being too formal. They. Can. Never. Win!
Which of course is entirely the pony. The game is designed do that they never win.
I want to believe that the current criticism is coming from a different group than previously criticized their lack of formality. Like, maybe 90% of people have no opinion on how royals address each other, 5% are very vocal that they should always be super formal and use titles, and a different 5% are very vocal that family does not stand on formality.
Anyway, that’s what I want to believe. What I do believe is that there is probably a lot of overlap in people that previously criticized their lack of formality and are now criticizing their formality.
Ffs. This is ridiculous. Obviously the gossip cycle dried up for some folks and they needed something to write about.
What cracked me up was all the Camb stans crying that they used his title to be intentionally cold and unfeeling. But they cried about the exact opposite thing when the Sussexes left a non-title using message for one of the Cambridge children’s birthday messages. When they wrote the message to (I think it was) Louis and didn’t use his title, all we heard was how the Sussexes (aka Meghan because they’re sure she’s the one writing the IG message) are above their station and needed to use the title for the child because 1 yo Louis outranks them. And now when they do use Will’s title, they also want to criticize that. More proof that nothing the Sussexes do will ever be good enough for some. 🤷🏽♀️ I feel like the Sussexes were like, you want protocol? Here you go!
Except Duke is a higher rank than Prince, so that’s an odd argument to cling to. Not that stans are in the habit of seeking sense.
Yeah, duke outranks prince, but Louis outranks Harry in terms of how close he is to the throne, which is what the stans care about IMO. I mean, Louis is one spot ahead of Harry, but apparently that is a BIG DEAL. (and also, most don’t realize that a duke is higher than a prince. I got into it once with someone and I actually had to provide links. On instagram. I was so embarrassed for myself that I had sunk so low and cared so much LOLOL.)
I think they meant outrank as in order of succession
Yup they cannot win with haters and Cambridge stans.
I didn’t realize that duke outranked prince, though it makes sense now that I’m thinking about it. It wouldn’t make sense for the Queen to give them lower titles for their weddings.
But that’s different for Prince of Wales, right? Is that because that’s “Prince of …” rather than a title he’s born with?
The heir to the throne becomes Duke of Cornwall automatically when their parent becomes the monarch.
That’s why I laugh at the people who think calling Meghan Duchess is a put-down and lower in rank than a princess.
A royal duke out-ranks a prince. A non-royal duke such as the Duke of Marlborough does not.
This is exactly why Harry and Meghan should have never opened their own social media account as they’ve now made themselves targets for further public scrutiny and tried to set themselves apart as ‘celebrities’ . Also, are we at the stage now that if something isn’t said on social media than it hasn’t been said? It’s a poor indictment on us that nothing can be private anymore.
They are a target regardless. Meghan has been seen a grand total of 2 times since giving birth and she’s still on the covers of every tab. They shouldn’t have to stop living their lives because stupid people view everything they do as unroyal. Why shouldn’t they have a social every other Royal has one? They aren’t going to make everyone happy with whatever they post.
I don’t believe Harry and Meghan should stop doing things they enjoy just to avoid criticism from internet trolls and royal reporters. It’s not their fault that people are obsessed with them. And I wish people would stop pretending as if the Royal Family aren’t glorified celebrities. Those tiaras and palaces aren’t fooling anyone. The most respected person in that family is the Queen. Everyone else is just as problematic and attention-seeking as any Hollywood actor.
@Marina. People were criticizing her well before they were on social media. That should not stop them from doing the philanthropic works they are assigned to do. Love it or hate it, in 2019 they need social media to accomplish it. Why do you think they want to set themselves apart as celebrities. What tells you they see themselves as such. Please be specific. Just curious because that’s a statement her critics love to use.
Shouldy should should.
It’s never enough.
Lucky for them, folks are here to set them to rights!
Having a social media presence is a bit of a double-edged sword. But I have to believe that the signal boost it gives to the Sussexes’ causes and charities outweighs the downside. We all know that they (the Duchess) will be criticized no matter what. Let’s try not blame them for any part of the abuse being heaped on them.
Charles and Camilla have social media accounts through Clarence House, W&K do through KP, the British Royals have an official channel on YouTube, Andrew has professional social media accounts.
Keep spinning, Marina, it doesn’t work. It is perfectly fine for the Sussexes to have social media accounts. To not have them would be out of step with today’s multi-platform media consumption.
@Marina, I am glad I am not the only one who questioned the logic of the Sussexes opening their own social media accounts.
It’s an official account. And it always made sense.
Under KP their events and causes were not getting promoted well or in a timely manner. While wk events or even week old events got heavy priority. Almost as filler to drown any Sussex mention.
No matter what the spare and his wife were forever meant to be targets. That the spare’s wife is biracial ticks the British press off even more…
Andrew has one. Charles and Camilla have one. Why is it only Harry and Meghan aren’t allowed to have one. Eh?
It’s probably nothing but part of me hopes it is pettiness, which would be well deserved.
Frankly, I did see it as a slight. I couldn’t help but wonder if Meghan wanted to do a post and Harry didn’t so they compromised. As much as I’d love to hear all of the details, unfortunately it’s none pf my business. Shoot.
By the way, the ads at the bottom of this site are sooooo annoying. I have to keep hitting the X, and they open again in a few seconds. How about no ads down at the bottom?
Yea, if we keep saying they are so media savvy, then this seems like deliberately low-key.
This is becoming boring and petty. How sad to see a bunch of adults whining about an Instagram post. I wish royal stans and reporters would realize that majority of the world’s population does not give a crap about the Royal Family, and even less care about Prince William’s birthday.
Haters (and Cambridges fan) always said that Sussex are so not important but then they’re always talking about what they do and don’t do. LOL
It’s not like it’s not the same for M&H’s fans and the Cambridges.
That William pic is awful. He looks like a granpa.
I cannot with these people: “…dignified prince, loving husband, compassionate father, dedicated royal, hardworking heir …” Please, where do these people live? Fandom is okay, but please stay realistic. La la la fairytale land!
I bet when Sussex separated from Cambridge, the Cambridges did not give them permission to use their kids or themselves (out of an official capacity) in their posts to generate likes. so that’s why they post only on the KP IG. They were criticized for being too familiar with their nephew and niece and now are criticized for being too formal with their brother (in-law). Haters are just gonna hate.
Good point!
It’s not a big deal, but it’s a diss by the Sussexes. It’s also not just the regular crazy British gossip which picked this up. People, which has been pro Sussexes and royals, highlighted the “brief” message. Plus average people look at the post and it seems terse compared to their other posts. Most negative comments are coming from Instagram people. It’s not like the Sussex’s instagram didn’t do a nice comment for other family members too. The sad thing is even Prince Andrew posted a cute throwback pic of William, and Harry really is the only royal who can post a throwback picture with his mother in it. I would have loved to have seen that. If I’m managing the Cambridge’s instagram, come Harry’s b-day, I’m posting Happy b-day wishes Duke of Sussex and cute throwback pic of Harry, Diana, and William.
Not sure why this isn’t as interesting as before. The other gossip was racist crap which was just gross. This is passive aggressive fighting at it’s best, or just an unintentional flub which looks like it. I thought celebitchy would be eating this up. It’s gossip gold without the terrible social implications of racism, elitism and sexism, which seem to plague the Sussexes gossip. If you are big Sussex fans it seems like pretty good shade too.
My sister and I are by no means royals but we always post some throwbacks on our IG accounts for each other’s birthdays. We have a unique shared history.
Meghan isn’t dumb. She’s social media savvy enough to know this was going to be noticed amid other royal accounts posting birthday messages.
Was it Meghan’s brother? No it’s Harry’s why put Meghan in it.
I agree wholeheartedly Peg, the only reason at all to throw Meghan in here is she is the social media savvy person. Still we don’t know if she said you should put something more and Harry just said no don’t want to.
It’s not even slightly a diss. They have designed their IG for a specific primary purpose – highlighting their causes. They include little bits of themselves as well, but their goal from the outset was to tie it to their work and that’s what they’re doing. That was obvious and stated from day one. They don’t need to do stupid gush posts about a minor birthday (or even a major one of they don’t wish to) just to appease the rabid Cambridge fans and bigoted reporters. You’ve no idea what they did or didn’t do in private.
When they commented more gushy and less formal for the Cambridge kids, they got shit for it. Now they do a formal comment and they’re getting shit. They can’t ever win.
ITA. When I had a newborn, I was not thinking about the sensitive feelers of my siblings and husband’s siblings on social media. I was thinking about how to best acclimate to this new person (who I loved) and learning my new schedule of less sleep and independence. I know I am not a Duchess and don’t have a staff, but I won’t hold Meghan and Harry to a different standard than most first time parents. AND Will and Harry are beefing so a sappy bday post to him would have been disingenuous.
Anti-Meghan commenters are never going to be satisfied with her efforts so why bother to even try?
Brickyard, that argument would hold water if Sussex hadn’t done a multi-photo post for Phillip’s birthday three weeks ago.
It was an easy way to do a “nothing to see here” post – put up a pic of the brothers from the wedding and wish him a happy birthday. I’m looking at this from a digital marketing perspective. Because now KP will either not wish Meghan a happy birthday in August and fuel more rumors, or post something and rally the Cambridge stans.
Long game.
“Multiphoto post for Phillip” is a bit of a stretch. There were two pictures – one current, and an older B&W with HM. There were seven for the queen’s birthday (including one of her with the boys as children). The reigning monarch and her husband, both in their 90’s.
Apart from the obvious, above, not sure where the dividing line should be for highlighting other birthdays, especially if the purpose of the Sussex IG is to showcase their work. If you do a post for Will, will it be called a snub if you don’t for Catherine? What about George, who’s the heir to the heir to the heir? What about Anne/Andrew/Edward?
Anyway, Camilla’s birthday is in July (Charles is November). We’ll see how they handle that.
It wasn’t the Cambridge’s that gave them crap, it was the “public” or instagram various people. Sure it could be trolls employed by the Cambridges’ but they just don’t seem that social media savvy to me to do that.
The Sussexes have used their instagram account for birthday wishes for both the Queen and Prince Phillip, wedding photos on their anniversary, and happy father’s day pics so not just philanthropic efforts.It seems a bit cold for your only brother. Seems more like he’s mad at him, and apparently, me and a lot of “public” even some who love the Sussexes agree. Sure it could be they are just being more careful cause the social mediasphere got on them before. Look at it from outside of your normal Sussex fanbase and you realize it’s a freezer cold comment. Also, it’s not like you and me and a new baby. All Harry, who should have done it cause its HIS brother, had to do was call the communications office and tell them to throw up a picture of him with his mom and william and say Happy Birthday HRH Duke of Cambridge. The cute would have been the pic and the title would have been proper. Seriously, not that hard. He didn’t want to do it so he and unfortunately Meghan gets this crap. Cause we always blame the woman more.
I think one of my biggest gripes with the Royals is that the stans of both sides are all “x is SO good at y. They know what they’re doing” until something is done that looks less than stellar, and then suddenly it’s “oh it’s not their fault, they can’t win”. And it’s absolutely happening on both sides of the aisle – it’s not just one or the other.
I like both women. I think they’re both interesting in their own way. I think they’re both good people, who have genuinely good intentions. But there’s so much put on about how great Meghan is at social media, how great her blog was, how she knows how to play the game – until something is taken negatively and run with by the press or by the fans who only like Kate, and then it’s a case of “well, she just can’t win no matter what. she obviously couldn’t know what reaction would be given”. It’s the same way that Kate stans infantilize her. They’ll play her up as a doting wife, and future queen consort who can’t misstep, then when she DOES misstep (as anyone will at some point) it’s a case of “oh it’s x’s fault. Oh that’s not a REAL rule”.
The fandoms are just ridiculous. Everyone seems to worried about counteracting the hate and the perceived threats/disses that they play up both women’s resumes far too much.
Sorry but this is just not true at all. It is not infantilizing Meghan to say that because she is such a target of this hateful press she cannot win. I have no idea how you got the impression that it is the same way Kate’s actions are regarded. Kate does barely anything and she is lauded as the perfect future Queen. Meghan (probably her) wrote a simple sentence and now everyone’s teeth are bared. The contrast is unmissable.
Erinn seriously. The whole patron saints thing is exhausting (especially in a certain not-to-be-named corner of the internet where it gets vicious). They’re both human, they both make mistakes, and this was a misstep.
Other Maria here. I thought what Erinn wrote was right on . Thank you Erinn.
She absolutely cannot win. I agree that I think she “knew what she was doing” (if we’re figuring she runs the account) but I don’t think she thought she would be slammed for calling him the Duke of Cambridge, considering that the other royal accounts ALSO referred to him as such in their own posts, and considering the criticism they got for referring to Louis and Charlotte by their first names and not Prince/Princess.
I said this below, but had Sussex Royal made a separate IG post for William’s bday, they would have been accused of making the day about them, stealing the spotlight, the name “me-gain” would have been tossed around, etc. I really scratch my head at some of the things people find to criticize her for.
@Becks1 your repeating that cruel (and still unconfirmed, probably invented by the tabloids) nickname isn’t exactly helpful.
Just saying.
@somechick, I am only using it because its the name the Cambridge stans toss around on IG. I don’t think its the end of the world to repeat it.
Some are pointing out the double standards, the intrinsic racism, how Meghan is being treated differently. While there are some on either side who get out of hand? I think the ones who are sticking to the facts and calling out the idiot RRs are doing an important job.
This is spot on. But the Stans will never see that in themselves, unfortunately.
See the Mad About Meghan blog post about a new royal foundation to see how the RRs slant is taken apart. She’s doing something important by researching, writing, and showing how the RRs are making things up.
When was Kate every accused of breaking a rule, real or otherwise? That’s always been Meghan.
Erinn,
The both sides-ism argument doesn’t work here, in general. The racism aimed at Meghan puts this in a different category. I don’t know how closely you have followed all of the headlines coming out of the (mostly) British publications, but they are full of dog-whistles, micro-aggressions, and outright racist BS against Meghan. This has been happening now for what, 2 years? So trying to put the criticism of both in the same category does not work. Super fans can always be annoying, of course. However, when Meghan is criticized, there is so often a racial subtext. Even unconscious bias. That is something Kate simply will NEVER have to deal with. Counteracting the hate and perceived threats/disses, as you say, is much different when there’s a racial component.
Also: like BeanieBean said, when has Kate ever been accused of breaking a rule? Again, we’re not talking about this website, where Meghan does have a lot of fans. We’re talking the British press here. The British press does not go after Kate like they do Meghan, not even a little bit (or at all). This website shouldn’t be the measuring stick to compare the treatment of them (no offense to this website, which I love!!!).
Much ado about nothing. SMFH, now they are blaming Meghan.
I’m an average person who thinks it’s ridiculous how much people obsess over social media posts. This world has survived millions of years without birthday messages on Instagram. I think William and his stans will be okay.
Yes, Melissa. Exactly. It’s ridiculous that people are getting bent out of shape over a social media birthday comment.
I agree. No big deal but petty.
There’s nothing else for KP to leak to RR so they will focus on anything to continue bullying Meghan. One can only hope she doesn’t read all of the crap written about her.
Meghan redesigned her engagement ring to add pave diamonds to band. Don’t worry that story will take over the “snub” in 3.. 2. 1
I had to laugh at that story. Of course, it’s Meghan designing her own ring, not Meghan’s husband who gave it her and maybe wanted to do something special for his wife. Although, FWIW, I had my ring remounted to a different band a few years (3, I think) after I got married and I am certainly not a royal, lol. I’m sure there is some royal protocol about rings or something. But I’m thinking, maybe the ring didn’t fit after the baby so they took the opportunity to change the band when it was resized?
@Skiff I100% agree on everything. This is gossip at its purest !
Well there is something much more sinister afoot.
There is a new UK comedy TV spoof show that lampoons well known figures using 3D technology dummies. A dark skinned Meghan is depicted as trailer trash threatening to stab Kate. I am very disappointed in some of the people who participated in this programme, I thought they would have more sense.
Good lord that’s disgusting.
Yeah, I read the well-deserved complaints against BBC and the WOC who participated in this despicable production on Twitter over the weekend. I’m still baffled as to how anyone involved thought this racist attempt at satire was funny or appropriate. In fact, I was so disgusted, I deleted the BBC app from my phone. The birthday greeting story is nothing compared to this.
The tumblr crowd will be along to tell us it isn’t racist in 3, 2, 1 …
Has anyone seen that BBC2 video of Meghan??? What an actual….I’m confused; was that supposed to be satirical?
LOL at anyone trying to act like william is at all on the level of the queen or prince phillip by claiming they “snubbed” him by not giving him his own special post after doing posts for the two of them. major false equivalencies there.
YES thank you. They hold very different roles. Same with Charles.
😆…. royal family issues. These people are useless…ALL of them!
Thank you for coming to every royals post to tell us this.
I can tell you…when or if I did THIS to my Sisters on their birthday…
It was complete…and utter…
Shade…
#ImPettyWhenTheyDeserveIt
This is so ridiculous. I feel pretty confident that William and Kate don’t care what Harry and Meghan did or didn’t do on IG for William’s bday.
I think it was intentional, but not a “diss.” I think the Sussexes are using their account differently than other royal accounts, and like I said the other day, if they make separate IG posts for other royals (outside of the Queen, Philip and Charles) for their bdays and not William, then I’ll be more on board with “this is a snub.” As it is…..yeah, you cant compare Harry not doing a separate ode to William on IG to Harry and Meghan wishing Philip a happy birthday.
The reason I think they “cant win” is because if Sussex Royal HAD done a separate IG post, they would have been criticized for trying to make the day about them and trying to steal the spotlight etc.
Yes, they would have been criticized for posting or not posting. They are criticized for using his title, but would have been criticized for not using it (as they were for Louis).
So Sussex wished happy birthday on their IG to her Maj and to the Duke of E, coincidentally the only two in the picture with master Archie. It’s clearly a sign of Harry’s beloved relationship with his grandparents. He isn’t wasting space posting wishes to just any and everyone. Good for them.
Yeah Harry andMeghan not gushing over the man who threw his sil under the bus to deflect the unfavourable comparisons being made with him and his lazy wife and deflect from rumours of an affair. Don’t blame them at all.
+100
I think this was designed to stir up controversy, but it’s also perfect. Because it’s truly such a DUMB thing to harp on – William didn’t get a full instagram post for his birthday! But we can’t say “Meghan’s probably running the insta account” and “Meghan knows what she’s doing!” without also admitting she knew what she was doing with just a happy birthday comment. She knows how dumb complaining about it looks, but that the same people who hate her can’t help but complain.
GFY was also trying to make this a thing.
What about the “optics” of William pushing to split the Foundation when Meghan and Harry are taking care of a newborn? Can you imagine if someone did to William and Kate?
Is there anyone here that actually believes Normal Bill ever looks at Instagram?
That is Harry’s brother if he didn’t bother to post a throwback or recent photo of his own brother that’s on him. I really don’t think it’s a big deal the Sussexes made it known that their insta will be about them and their work. Yes I know they posted about the queen and the duke. Willy isn’t the monarch nor is he in his 90s.
Who would post a gushy birthday post about a guy who threw his pregnant sister in law under the bus to cover his cheating ways?
Agreed. The Duchess of Sussex has a newborn to care for. If Harry didn’t think it was important to make a special post for HIS brother’s birthday , why should she?
It might look slightly passive-aggressive,but it’s not an important birthday either,so I wouldn’t read much into it.
It’s more notable that they didn’t post anything for the Greenfell anniversary,given Meghan’s involvement with the cookbook.
Grenfell, not Greenfell.
Other royals were involved in visiting Grenfell and did Grenfell charity efforts. They did not post on the anniversary either. No surprise you aren’t criticizing them.
I know it’s Grenfell.. It was my phone’s autocorrect..
The situations are not comparable at all. None of them got that media attention for sponsoring a specific project related to the community.
Given how much flack the Sussexes received for wishing George happy birthday on IG, maybe they decided to call William privately?