The royal family has extended an olive branch to wish Meghan Markle a happy birthday

Today the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle turns a gracious 39 and in an effort to reach out to the famous couple, the royal family has used Instagram to wish Meghan a happy birthday.

The Queen has sent a very public happy birthday to Meghan through the royal family's official Instagram account. The post depicted a photo of Meghan and the Queen standing together reads:

🎂🎈Wishing The Duchess of Sussex a very happy birthday! 📸 The Queen and The Duchess are pictured during a joint visit to Chester in 2018.

It has been noticed by many that last year the same public wished were not extended to Meghan on her birthday, leading some to believe the post may be an olive branch from Her Majesty amongst all the tensions and drama stemming from Meghan's court case and the upcoming Sussex biography 'Finding Freedom'.

It seems that Prince William and Kate Middleton have also followed the Queen's lead and have shared a message of support on their own Instagram account Kensington Royal. The iconic couple has posted a heartwarming and wholesome photo of Meghan interacting with a little girl. The post reads:

Wishing a very happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex today! 🎂🎈

The birthday wishes come just after the royal family website altered Meghan's bio to strip her of her HRH title. The article now refers to Markle as 'she' or the 'Duchess of Sussex' instead of 'Her Royal Highness'. This was not the only change to the bio as decision-makers behind the website chose to remove large sections of her description outlining her feminist beliefs and diminishing the appearance of the Duchess' charity and humanitarian work. In replacement, the blurb now reads of Meghan's exit from her royal duties:

As announced in January, The Duke and Duchess have stepped back as senior members of The Royal Family. They are balancing their time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour their duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and their patronages. Frogmore Cottage in the UK remains their family home. 

The Duchess will continue to support a number of charitable causes and organisations which reflect the issues with which she has long been associated including the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare.