King Charles III is shining a spotlight on his “beloved daughter-in-law” amid a royal scandal rocking Buckingham Palace.
The Princess of Wales, who is celebrating her 42nd birthday on Tuesday, received a heartfelt birthday message from the king and his wife Queen Camilla on social media. The British royal family’s official Instagram and X accounts posted a photo of the Princess of Wales from the coronation in May.
The photo, which was taken by Chris Jackson of Getty Images, showed the mother of three with the king and queen during a behind-the-scenes moment.
PRINCE WILLIAM, KATE MIDDLETON SHARE GLIMPSE INTO ROYAL YEAR INCLUDING UNRELEASED PHOTOS
“Wishing The Princess of Wales a very happy birthday today!” the caption read.
This is not the first time the king and queen paid tribute to the princess on her birthday. Last year, they shared another heartfelt photo of the royal visiting Wales with William, 41, after they were named the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2022.
The couple received their new titles after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died in September 2022 at age 96.
Kate Middleton (left, seen here with her father-in-law King Charles) became a member of the British royal family when she married Prince William in 2011. (John Stillwell – WPA Pool)
The princess is expected to spend the day privately, People magazine reported. According to the outlet, London’s Westminster Abbey, where the Prince and Princess of Wales married in 2011, will ring their bells in honor of the royal’s birthday.
Charles is known to be very fond of Middleton. During his state visit to Kenya in October, the monarch recalled how William proposed to Middleton in the country in 2010. He called her “my beloved daughter-in-law” at his address.
Middleton is also known for showing affection towards the 75-year-old. During public engagements, the pair exchange hugs and kisses on the cheek.
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Kate Middletion is seen here receiving a kiss on the cheek from the former Prince Charles during the “No Time To Die” world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28, 2021, in London, England. (Max Mumby/Indigo)
Amid all the warm wishes for the princess, the palace has been faced with an “Andrew problem,” as several royal watchers have labeled the ongoing drama.
Prince Andrew was named in previously secret court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were unsealed in the new year.
Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender, was found dead behind bars in 2019 at age 66. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan prosecuted Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, 62, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York leaves after attending the royal family’s traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in eastern England, on Dec. 25, 2023. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP)
Buckingham Palace, as well as Andrew’s attorney, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The Metropolitan Police announced in a statement that they’re aware of the documents, but “no investigation has been launched” on the 63-year-old, the U.K.’s Independent reported.
The king has been facing mounting pressure to evict his younger brother from his lavish Royal Lodge home, a 30-room mansion that extends to 98 acres. Andrew moved into the property in 2004.
Andrew has retained his title as the Duke of York. He also maintains his place in the line of succession to the British throne, which is eighth behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children. However, he cannot use the title of HRH or “His Royal Highness” in any capacity.
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Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019. He was 66. That same year, Prince Andrew stepped down as a working royal. (Rick Friedman/Corbis)
Royal blog “Gert’s Royals” reported that the king alone does not have the power to remove royal titles.
“Parliament can remove titles,” the outlet explained on X. “But they will find it difficult in this case. The legislative branch (Parliament) or executive branch (Honors Forfeiture Committee) don’t have the powers to decide if someone is guilty of a crime. It is the judicial branch (Courts)’s job to determine if someone is guilty. And then other branches can act on that decision. And since there have never been any charges or convictions against Prince Andrew, in the eyes of the U.K. government, he is innocent.”
A petition calling for Andrew to be stripped of his Earl of Inverness title has received hundreds of new signatures since the court documents were released. More than 11,000 people have signed the petition since it was launched in April of last year.
The Duke of York at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023. (Andrew Matthews/Pool via REUTERS)
The council in the northern city of York previously voted unanimously to withdraw the prince’s “freedom of the city.” The honor was awarded to Andrew in 1987 after the queen made him the Duke of York. He is the first person to be stripped of the status, an honor that dates back to medieval times. Local leaders have since argued that Andrew should also lose the title of Duke of York. A spokesperson for Andrew declined to comment at the time.
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid his controversial connection to Epstein. He was also stripped of his honorary military titles. Before her death in 2022, the queen also removed his honorary leadership of various charities, known as royal patronages.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Though Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, he agreed to an out-of-court settlement paid to the American woman in February 2022. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Virginia Roberts holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her sexually. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service)
The settlement amount was reported to be anywhere between $3.6 million to $14.8 million.
The documents being unsealed are part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Giuffre. The 40-year-old is one of the dozens of women who sued Epstein saying he had abused them at his homes in Florida, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands and New Mexico.
In 2022, Giuffre withdrew an accusation she had made against Epstein’s former attorney, the law professor Alan Dershowitz, saying she “may have made a mistake” in identifying him as an abuser.
King Charles III has faced mounting pressure to evict Prince Andrew from Royal Lodge. (Jordan Pettitt – WPA Pool)
The records – including transcripts of interviews with some of Epstein’s victims and old police reports – contained reminders that the millionaire surrounded himself with famous and powerful figures, including a few who have also been accused of misconduct.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
