The royal family and the Prince and Princess of Wales have wished Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday – the first public message for him since 2021.

The royal family’s message shared on X on Sunday (British time) said simply: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”

The post was accompanied by a picture of a smiling Harry and an emoji of a birthday cake.

The post was then shared by Prince William and wife Kate, who added their own message, writing: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to the Duke of Sussex.”

It is the first time the royal family has shared a public message for Harry since wishing him a happy birthday in 2021, the year he and wife Meghan Markle had their sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Harry spent his milestone birthday on Sunday with Meghan and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

He is then said to be heading away for a gathering with close friends.

Harry enters his fifth decade in what has been a roller-coaster year for the royal family, with both the King and the Princess of Wales diagnosed with cancer.

But the duke, who lives in California after stepping down from the working monarchy, remains estranged from his brother, the Prince of Wales, and has a strained relationship with his father.

When the King’s shock health news was announced in February, Harry made a transatlantic dash to see the King. His meeting with his father lasted just 45 minutes.

In comments released to the BBC, the duke said “I was anxious about 30, I’m excited about 40”, and described how fatherhood had given him a renewed sense of purpose to make “this world a better place”.

In the past year, Harry has tried his hand at the skeleton bobsled when he joined Invictus Games competitors training in Canada, and done quasi-royal tours to Colombia and Nigeria.

In Colombia, Meghan addressed a panel on Afro-Descendant Women and Power and told how her three-year-old daughter Lili had “absolutely found her voice”.

The couple also relaunched their Archewell website, rebranding it as Sussex.com under the title The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry travelled to London in May to celebrate a decade of his Invictus Games and attended a service at St Paul’s Cathedral but did not meet his brother or father.

Birmingham has won the bid to host the sporting competition in 2027, with the duke congratulating the city on its success and looking set to attend the games in Britain in three years.

Harry’s new Netflix documentary series about the world of polo will air in December.

There was a brief return to Britain for the duke in August for the funeral of his uncle Lord Fellowes, when he stayed at Althorp, the ancestral home of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

William also attended the church service, though there was reportedly no interaction between the estranged brothers.