The birthday post marks the first time the British royal family has shared a photo of Prince Harry since 2021.

Buckingham Palace has denied claims Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was cropped out of a photo posted to mark the 40th birthday of her husband Prince Harry.

The image, taken on Harry and Meghan’s trip to Dublin in 2018, shows the duke smiling as he listens to others around a table.

The royal family’s official Instagram page featured a post on Monday with the message: “Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!”

Some eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out a wider version of the same photo that included his wife Meghan, also smiling in the image, and speculation began that she had been deliberately cropped out of the photo.

However, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told The Independent the image was not altered and was used in the format it was received.

It has since been made clear that two photos were uploaded on that day in 2018 by the Press Association to Getty Images — one was zoomed in on the prince and a second showed Meghan and several others perched around the table.

The post has been considered by many as an olive branch extended by the family, as it is the first public post for Harry since 2021, a year after the Sussexes stepped back as working royals.

Harry’s brother and sister-in-law The Prince and Princess of Wales also shared the photo to their Instagram stories and wrote: “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to the Duke of Sussex.”

The gesture sparked new hope of a reconciliation between the brothers.

On Monday, Sunrise royal correspondent Rob Jobson spoke about the public message.

“I think it is better than nothing. I mean, the fact that they did it … they would have gotten more bother if they hadn’t done it, so by doing it they cover themselves,” Jobson said.

“(It would have been nicer) If it had been a bit more brotherly … rather than ‘we wish the Duke of Sussex a good day’, I think he could have been more personal. But it is better than nothing.”

In August the royal siblings both attended the funeral of their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes in Norfolk, but it is said they “kept their distance”.

An alleged rift between the brothers’ wives — Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — has been cited as one of the reasons Harry and Meghan moved out of Kensington Palace in 2019.

Harry and Meghan eventually stepped down from royal duties and moved to the US, where they now live with their two children.

When Harry spoke to Oprah Winfrey in 2021, he declined to reveal what had seemingly widened the divide between the royals.

“The relationship is space at the moment and time heals all things, hopefully,” he said.

“My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave, and I have huge compassion for that.”

He said he and William had “been through hell together, we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths”.