The picture used was taken when the Duke and Duchess visited Dogpatch Labs to meet technology entrepreneurs.
In the original photograph, the Duchess was depicted alongside her husband at a table with two other people. However, she was partially obscured and a photographic agency cropped the image in order to release a second, square version focused solely on the Duke.
The family’s decision to publicly mark the occasion was considered by some as an olive branch, signalling a potential thawing in relations.
However, others noted that it would have appeared churlish not to record such a significant milestone, only serving to generate further speculation and coverage of family tensions.
Neither the King nor the Prince of Wales publicly acknowledged the Duke’s birthday last year, with palace sources insisting they only marked the birthdays of working members of the family.
The previous year, the family was observing a period of mourning following the death of Elizabeth II, ahead of her funeral on Sept 19.
However, in 2021, 18 months after the Duke and Duchess stepped back from their roles as working royals, the family’s official social media accounts wished the Duke a “very happy birthday”, posting several pictures of him alongside a balloon emoji.