Duchess Meghan (archive image)
Photo: Hannah Mckay / REUTERS
Queen Elizabeth II has congratulated Duchess Meghan on her 40th birthday.
Along with the congratulations, the royal family published several photos on Twitter showing the Duchess of Sussex.
A picture shows the Queen with a smiling Meghan at a joint public appearance in June 2018.
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, also sent congratulations via Twitter.
Harry's brother William and his wife Kate published a photo in addition to the "Happy Birthday" in which Meghan can be seen on the beach with a Hawaiian flower chain around her neck.
Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry's relationship with the royal family has been considered strained since the couple withdrew to the United States last year.
Fierce allegations of racism and lack of support, which the two had made in a high-profile television interview, heightened tensions.
For the supporters of the breakaway couple, who for many are the epitome of modernity and independence, it was a feast day: They paid homage to Meghan and emphasized that it could not be a coincidence that she was born on the same day as the influential former US president Barack Obama.
Meghan and Harry live in California with two-year-old Archie and their daughter Lilibet Diana, who was born just a few weeks ago.
The choice of name had been interpreted by some as an offer of peace to London.
However, there were disagreements as to whether the Queen, who is also called "Lilibet" by confidants, was asked in good time.
Prince Harry's announcement that he would publish an autobiography in the coming year has not eased the situation.
The book will report on "experiences, adventures, loss experiences and life lessons" that have shaped Harry, it said.
According to reports, the royal family had not been informed about the project in advance.
Harry, that was obviously a concern.
"I am not writing this as the prince I was born as, but as the man I became," he wrote.
ala / dpa