Meghan Markle celebrates her 39th birthday in Los Angeles

Happy birthday, Meghan! Duchess of Sussex turns 39 in Los Angeles after a whirlwind 12 months that has seen her and Prince Harry quit the Royal Family

  • Duchess of Sussex will celebrate her 39th birthday in Los Angeles today
  • She has had a whirlwind year that has seen her and Harry quit the royal family
  • Meghan Markle was given public well wishes by members of the royal family 
  • This birthday falls amid controversy surrounding the Sussexes’ biography 

The Duchess of Sussex is celebrating her 39th birthday after a whirlwind 12 months that has seen her life transformed.

A year ago Meghan Markle was a working member of the British royal family and living in the grounds of Windsor Castle with husband Harry and their son Archie.

But today the family  live in Los Angeles after breaking away from the monarchy this spring for personal and financial freedom.

Last year Meghan received public well-wishes from senior members of the royal family including Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It remains to be seen if the family will post today. 

However it is thought this is unlikely as Meghan and Harry no longer have an active Instagram account.

The Duchess of Sussex is celebrating her 39th birthday after a whirlwind 12 months that has seen her life transformed. Pictured, Harry and Meghan speaking from their Los Angeles home

This year’s birthday falls amid controversy surrounding the publication of the Sussexes’ bombshell biography, Finding Freedom, which lays bare the rift between the couple and members of the Firm. 

The book, written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durant, claims relations between the Sussexes and the Cambridges grew so bitter that by March the couples were barely speaking.

Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan moved to America with their 14-month-old son just a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the globe, and like everyone else have been living under lockdown.

Birthday celebrations are likely to be low-key as the state of California they now call home reportedly has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in America.

A year ago Meghan Markle was a working member of the British royal family and living in the grounds of Windsor Castle with husband Harry and their son Archie. The couple stepped down from royal duties in March. Pictured, at one of their final engagements that month in London

A year ago Meghan Markle was a working member of the British royal family and living in the grounds of Windsor Castle with husband Harry and their son Archie. The couple stepped down from royal duties in March. Pictured, at one of their final engagements that month in London

Despite restrictions the couple have voiced their opinions about issues, especially the renewed focus on equality and race that followed the death of George Floyd in the United States.

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement Meghan, who became the first bi-racial person to marry a senior royal, delivered an impassioned speech to her old high school following the death of Mr Floyd, sharing her ‘absolute devastation’ at racial divisions.

The issue of racial equality is expected to be a cause that forms part of their public work when the couple formally launch their new charitable organisation, Archewell, which has replaced their UK based Royal Sussex foundation which has been wound down. 

 

Last year Prince Harry wished Meghan a happy birthday in a sweet message to the Sussex Royal Instagram account

Last year Prince Harry wished Meghan a happy birthday in a sweet message to the Sussex Royal Instagram account 

The couple have been working behind the scenes to urge top executives across the world to stand in solidarity with groups calling for a Facebook boycott.

The duke and duchess have spoken with a number of organisations leading the Stop Hate For Profit campaign, which is calling on businesses to pause advertising on the platform over the social network’s failure to do more to remove hate speech.

A source has said: ‘As we’ve been developing Archewell, one of the areas the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been keen to address is online hate speech, and we’ve been working with civil rights and racial justice groups on it.’

From March 31, Harry and Meghan stopped using their HRH styles and ceased to be senior working royals. 

The couple’s new life in Los Angeles comes at a cost but it is not known how they will pay for their lifestyle although there has been speculation about book deals and lecture circuit contracts the couple may have signed.