Prince William and King Charles shared birthday wishes for Prince Harry on social media on Sunday, Sept. 15 to celebrate his 40th birthday. The surprise messages came amid an ongoing rift between the Duke of Sussex and his father and brother.

According to royal expert Rebecca English, when Charles turned 75 last year, Harry rang up his dad, but the fact that the conversation and details of their call hit the news was a sore spot for the king. English explained that Charles was happy to call his son this year, but is still being careful with everything between himself and Harry.

I may not have an encyclopedic knowledge of British royal family history (yet), but as a royal reporter, I've kept a close enough eye on their social handles to predict the content they'll share. For instance,