AceShowbiz - Britain's Prince William led birthday messages for his sister-in-law Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as she turned 40 on Wednesday (04Aug21).

As Meghan reached the milestone birthday, William, the Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Katherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, shared a picture of her on their Instagram page, writing alongside it, "Wishing a happy 40th birthday to the Duchess of Sussex!"

Their post came just minutes after the official Twitter account for The Royal Family had shared a birthday message for mother of two, along with three pictures of the birthday girl - including one of her and Queen Elizabeth's one and only joint engagement in June 2018.

Meghan's father-in-law Prince Charles also shared a birthday message on his and wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall's, Clarence House Instagram page.

The posts come amid a difficult year for Meghan's husband Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his family. Harry fell out with dad Charles and brother William when he and Meghan decided to quit the royal family and move to America, before the couple went on to take aim at the royals in a high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey which made headlines around the world.

William and Harry briefly reunited to unveil a statue of their late mother Princess Diana in honour of what would have been her 60th birthday on 1 July. However, they notably didn't speak much or spend much time together before Harry left to return to the U.S.