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Prince William Posts Birthday Pic of His Dad—But I Noticed Something Super Odd About the Message

There's a pattern

prince william king charles birthday tribute message
Pool/Max Mumby/Getty Images

Prince William hasn’t slowed down since his wife, Kate Middleton, announced that she’s completed chemotherapy treatment. No matter how busy his schedule is, the Prince of Wales, 42, always finds a way to honor his family members (even if it means wearing a Taylor Swift-inspired friendship bracelet). 

This week, Prince William didn’t miss a beat when his dad, King Charles, turned 76 on November 14. The royal posted a tribute on the X (formerly Twitter) account he shares with Princess Catherine, featuring a simple message alongside a recent photo from the king’s royal tour of Australia and Samoa.

The caption read, “Wishing a very Happy Birthday to His Majesty The King!”

The birthday tribute gave me déjà vu because it’s oddly similar to previous birthday posts. The wording is almost identical to the message that Prince William and Princess Catherine shared in honor of Prince Harry’s birthday earlier this year. It read, “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex!”

This got me thinking about other birthday posts. And after I did a little digging, I realized that these short and sweet messages are the norm for the royal family.

Last year, Prince William posted a celebratory slideshow on Instagram in honor of King Charles’s 75th birthday. It read, “Wishing His Majesty The King a very happy 75th birthday! [birthday cake emoji].”

That message was almost identical to Prince William’s 2022 post for his dad. It read, “Wishing a very happy birthday to His Majesty the King.” (For the record, those are the exact same words used this year.)

Simplicity at its finest. 

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greta

Senior Editor, News and Entertainment

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