Buckingham Palace’s birthday tribute to Prince Harry stirred some unexpected speculation, with the internet asking one question: Was Meghan Markle cropped out of the photo?

The birthday tribute marked the first time in three years that the British royal family publicly recognized the Duke of Sussex’s birthday on social media after King Charles’ introduction of a new protocol that restricted birthday posts on social media to feature only active working royals in 2020.

In honor of Prince Harry celebrating his 40th birthday on September 15, Sunday, the British royal family shared a solo shot of him on social media.

The British royal family shared a birthday tribute for Prince Harry for the first time in three years

Image credits: The Royal Family / Instagram

“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” read the birthday tribute, which was re-shared by the Prince and Princess of Wales‘ social media account as well.

The photo chosen was from the prince’s visit to Ireland in 2018.

Meghan, 43, had also accompanied him on the trip, which was their first overseas visit together just two months after their royal wedding in May the same year.

The then-newlyweds had stopped at Dogpatch Labs while in Dublin, which was where the recently shared birthday photo was taken.

“Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” Buckingham Palace said as the Duke of Sussex celebrated his milestone birthday on September 15

Image credits: The Royal Family / Instagram

In the wider shot from the visit, the couple can be seen sitting together alongside others. Yet, for the birthday post, a solo shot of him smiling wide was chosen by the Royal Family account, run by the British King’s office at Buckingham Palace.

Social media users speculated whether the Suits actress was deliberately cropped out. Some even thought this confirmed “the hatred they continue to have for Meghan.”

The internet speculated whether Meghan Markle was deliberately cropped out of the picture, but the palace confirmed that they used the photograph without any alteration

“Tens of thousands of photos of Harry, and the Royal Family picked one that they cropped #MeghanMarkle out of. Well played, Royal-well played,” one social media user wrote.

“So much for the so called ‘Olive branch’ – Birthday greeting – to Harry on his 40th from Charles and the Royal Family,” said another. “Look who’s cropped out of the photo? Confirms the hatred they continue to have for Meghan. She was right all along.”

The palace soon stepped in to set the record straight.

A spokesperson for the Buckingham Palace confirmed to Independent that the image used was not altered, and they had used the photograph in the received format.

Seen as the rogue royals, Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020 and have since made several bombshell claims against the monarchy

The comments section of the birthday post was clearly divided, with some showering Prince Harry with wishes for hitting a milestone birthday while others sided with the ruling monarch due to the royal rift.

“Happy Birthday to the kindest, funniest, most relatable royal,” said one fan of the Duke of Sussex while another wished, “Happy 40th Birthday Harry, I really wish you all the love joy and happiness on your special day.”

Others criticized him in light of his departure from the royal family, with one saying he is, “A hateful man who’s treated his family abominably. We will never forgive how he treated Prince Philip and the Late Queen in their final weeks.”

“Not a working Royal – and actually a very divisive figure for many British family,” said another. “Look forward to @RoyalFamily now marking other non-working Royal Family member birthdays, for consistency.”