Why Meghan Markle's 41st Birthday Post to 'H' Is Being Savaged Months After It Was Posted — And How It Linked to His Ex Cressida Bonas

OK! can reveal Meghan Markle's 41st birthday tribute to Prince Harry has sparked fresh criticism, with social media users mocking everything from the image choice to how it is linked to one of the royal's most high-profile exes.

On September 15, Meghan, 44, took to Instagram to celebrate her husband's milestone with a throwback photo of the ginger-haired ex-soldier from a RAF flypast at Britain's Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex.

The Duchess of Sussex captioned the post: "Oh hi, birthday boy" – along with a fire emoji.

Her choice of image, taken a decade ago before Markle met Harry, has now drawn the attention of online sleuths who say it was over-edited and connected to Harry's former girlfriend, Cressida Bonas.

"Using an old picture of your spouse when there are so many recent memories feels strange," one social media commentator said about the now-controversial post.

Another added: "The emoji is cringe off the charts for a photo from before they even knew each other."

A third critic remarked: "It's bizarre she'd pick an image linked to Harry's ex."

The photograph dates back to 2015, when Harry had recently returned from conservation work in Africa and participated in a Goodwood event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. That same evening, Harry spent time in London with Bonas, following her split from her previous partner.

Harry and Bonas, introduced by Princess Eugenie, dated for roughly two years before ending their relationship due to the intense scrutiny surrounding the royal family. Bonas, 36, later married real estate agent Harry Wentworth-Stanley in 2020, and they now share two children.

Sources close to Harry and Meghan say her post was intended to be "playful," but it has "massively backfired."

One insider sneered: "Meghan clearly wants to express her affection for Harry, but using such an old photo with the fire emoji makes it feel a bit too calculated and overdone. And using an image linked to Cressida reeks of some sort of dig at his ex. It's bizarre she didn't use a more contemporary image – she must have thousands."

It comes as Meghan has faced huge criticism over the way she has tried to "reach out" to her stricken father, Thomas Markle. She was slammed for not turning to her estranged brother and sister to pin down his location after he was rushed to hospital and had his leg amputated, instead saying she was calling around wards and sent him an email to an old address.

It has now emerged Meghan has sent a letter to her sick father in hospital after he issued a plea to the duchess – saying he did not want to die while they hadn't spoken. Meghan sent the correspondence to her 81-year-old father through "reliable and trusted contacts." It was said to be "safely" in his hands last week.

Thomas is recovering in a hospital in the Philippines after undergoing a three-hour life-saving operation to remove his foot and lower leg. He sent Meghan a plea saying: "I don't want to die estranged."

The former lighting technician also said that he dreamed of seeing son-in-law Prince Harry and his grandchildren "before it's too late."

Thomas became estranged from Meghan, who lived with him from the age of 11 to 18, after he posed for snaps taken by paparazzi on the eve of her 2018 wedding. He subsequently suffered two heart attacks and was unable to walk her down the aisle at St George's Chapel when she met Harry – and has never met the prince or the couple's kids.