It was supposed to be a lovingly posted image showing just how attractive she found her husband on his 41st birthday. 

But Montecito-based Meghan Markle has attracted the mirth of the internet with a bizarre image of a bouffant-haired and ‘heavily filtered’ Prince Harry staring blankly in to the camera, in a snap taken ten years ago.

Royal fans were quick to mock the image the Duchess of Sussex, 44, shared on her Instagram account – and pointed out that the Duke was actually fresh out of a relationship with Cressida Bonas at the time it was taken.

Some even suggested she was pining for the ‘cheeky chappie’ Prince Harry of old by posting the flashback instead of one of the thousands of images taken of the royal since.

The photograph dates back to his 31st birthday when he took part in a RAF flypast at Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex.

Meghan captioned the image, which showed Harry with a rugged beard, with the words, ‘Oh hi, birthday boy’, alongside a fire emoji.

However, the tribute left many scratching their heads on social media as to why she wouldn’t choose a more recent photograph in light of the celebration.

One wrote: ‘Using an old picture of your spouse to say happy birthday when you should’ve made enough memories by now to post a genuine, heartfelt photo….ok Meghan.’

A third added, ‘But the photo is [from] before she met him, [it] is bizarre.’ A fourth remarked, ‘It’s the only photo she could find where he has hair.’

‘She didn’t even know him then .. and the emoji is cringe off the charts for an old photo,’ said another.

Meanwhile, Meghan’s choice appeared to be additionally interesting because it marked the time he debuted his rugged beard back in 2015 – and links to Harry’s current feud with his brother.

At the time, Prince Harry sent royal fans into a meltdown as he took part in the RAF flypast because of his new facial fuzz, with supporters hailing it as ‘sexy’.

Harry had recently returned from a summer working on conservation projects in Africa before attending the event, which marked the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Britain.

Meghan used a photograph taken on the day, filtering it into a darker tone before sharing it to her four million followers.

Later that day in 2015, Harry spent the evening with his ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, the day it had emerged that she had split with her then-latest boyfriend.

After taking part in the official engagement, Harry flew back to London by helicopter to spend the evening with the blonde actress and a group of close friends at the Cross Keys pub in Chelsea. 

Harry and Cressida’s appearance together inevitably added fuel to rumours that the prince was, at the time, keen to re-kindle his romance with then-26-year-old Cress, as she is known to her friends.

The couple dated for two years before breaking up in March 2014 after a row over attending the wedding of Harry’s good friend, Guy Pelly.

However, well-placed sources insisted that night the pair were ‘definitely’ not back together on his 31st birthday.

Meghan’s photo choice was further steeped in meaning due to Harry’s beard shown in the image later fuelling, according to Harry in his biography Spare, a furious row between him and his older brother, the Prince of Wales.

According to Harry’s memoir, rows with Prince William dogged the weeks leading up to Sussex’s royal wedding – and they even clashed over whether Harry could keep his beard.

He wrote in his book, ‘After all the stress of asking Granny for permission to marry Meg, I thought I’d never have the courage to ask her for anything else.

‘And yet I now dared to make another ask – Granny, please, may I, for my wedding, keep my beard?

‘Not a small ask either. A beard was thought by some to be a clear violation of protocol and long-standing norms, especially since I was getting married in my Army uniform. Beards were forbidden in the British Army.’

In the memoir, ghostwritten by Pulitzer Prize-winning author J.R. Moehringer, Harry philosophises about whether his beard was ‘Freudian – beard as security blanket’ or ‘Jungian – beard as mask’.

Regardless, he said that the beard made him feel ‘calmer’ and the Queen understood his needs.

‘Yes, she said, you may keep your beard. But then I explained it to my brother and he… bristled? Not the done thing, he said. Military rules, so forth.’

Harry said he gave his older brother ‘a quick history lesson’ with the help of Google – showing William images of Royal ancestors who were bearded and uniformed, such as Edward VII and George V.

When Harry said he had already been granted permission by their grandmother to keep the facial hair, William ‘became livid’.

Harry reported his brother saying: ‘You put her in an uncomfortable position, Harold! She had no choice but to say yes.’

Harry added that William ‘wouldn’t let it go’ and that the argument continued ‘in person, on the phone, for more than a week’.

It culminated, according to Harry, with his older brother ordering him to shave his beard off.

Harry said he replied: ‘For the love of God, Willy, why does this matter so much to you?’ Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.’

Harry concluded: ‘Ah, there it was. After he’d come back from an assignment with Special Forces, Willy was sporting a full beard, and someone told him to be a good boy, run along and shave it. He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he’d been denied.’

In the time since, William has made fans swoon with his beard, and has sported it on numerous occasions, including after he returned to duties following his summer break last year.

Earlier this year in March, Kate even let slip what she really thinks of her husband’s beard – and whether it looks good while he’s donning a uniform.

At the Irish Guards’ annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Kate said, ‘Every time he has his uniform on it’s like ‘definitely no beard’.’

She also admitted to being unsure how long her husband would keep his facial hair as ‘these trends come and go’.

It comes after Meghan celebrated the return of her ‘beau’ Prince Harry by touting her $30 wine on Instagram – after his four-day visit to the UK resulted in a reunion with his father.

The Duchess of Sussex commemorated the Duke’s return to Montecito – just in time for his 41st birthday- with a marketing-savvy post on the As Ever social media page.

In the Instagram Story, the mother-of-two can be seen pouring two glasses of the latest rendition of her own brand of rosé, which still appears to have not sold out online, on an ornately adorned wooden board outside, surrounded by flowers.

The sweet personal sentiment, accented by a glossy product snap, was followed by other reshares of fans sampling Meghan’s myriad of products, including her jam, marmalade and crepes.

The entrepreneurial post comes amid a poignant time for the Royal Family, with Harry meeting King Charles face-to-face for the first time in 19 months; before making a trip to Ukraine in which he defended his recent run of interviews and the publication of tell-all book Spare.

The Duke of Sussex described the monarch as doing well after a long-awaited reconciliation meeting at Clarence House.

Last Wednesday, he said of Charles, ‘Yes he’s great, thank you’ when asked about the catch-up during a reception for the Invictus Games, which he launched in 2014 as a tournament for injured service personnel and veterans.

Appearing relaxed, smiling and upbeat, Harry mingled with corporate sponsors and government ministers as he attended the event in The Gherkin, London, on September 10 ahead of a speech outlining the next 10 years of the Games.

The prince arrived at the event 40 minutes later than planned after travelling directly from a private tea with his father, which lasted for 55 minutes. 

It was their first meeting in 19 months since the Duke flew to the UK to see Charles in February 2024. 

Harry was spotted being driven into the royal residence in a black Range Rover before leaving in the same car just under an hour later. 

Charles had flown to the capital after a stay at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire, and flew down without the Queen.

Harry, his driver, and bodyguard were said to have used the visitor’s entrance to Clarence House – rather than entering via the gate on The Mall which is used by members of the Royal Family.

It was the first time the prince had seen his father in 19 months. Although he says the ‘focus really has to be on my dad’ in the next year, he told The Guardian during an interview in Kyiv, his ‘conscience is clear’. 

And he appeared to make a thinly veiled swipe at his brother Prince William as he said: ‘You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.’ 

He added: ‘I know that (speaking out) annoys some people and it goes against the narrative.

‘The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.’

He added: ‘I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible. My conscience is clear.’

‘It is not about revenge, it is about accountability,’ he said.