Meghan Markle Does This Meaningful Ritual for Her Birthday Every Year

(Image credit: Getty)

published 2 August 2023

Back in the days of The Tig—Meghan Markle’s popular lifestyle blog, which she closed in 2017—we got Meghan’s best tips on beauty, travel, and food recipes. But we also got little nuggets into her private life, including a birthday ritual she takes part in annually, which she shared in a post from 2016, the year she met her future husband, Prince Harry. (Meghan’s birthday is this Friday, August 4—she’ll be 42.)

“My mom has always said that birthdays are your own personal New Year,” Meghan wrote, via Hello. “Your own chance to make resolutions just for yourself and what you prognosticate for your year ahead.”

Meghan Markle looking at the camera in gold earrings and a teal dress

What were Meghan’s resolutions in 2016? Knowing what we know now about that year in her life, they are especially prescient: “More surprises, more adventure, more opportunities to grow, more days filled with giggles and cheeky jokes, more delicious meals, and more inspiration. Always more inspiration,” she wrote. In 2016, Meghan would have just met Harry about five weeks before her August 4 birthday, and this post would have been published around the time the two took their famous third date trip to Botswana together.

Meghan Markle in white at the Invictus Games

Typically, Harry and Meghan mark their birthdays privately, but we do know that in 2018—her first birthday as a working member of the royal family, as she and Harry had just married that previous May—the Sussexes attended the wedding of Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks in Surrey, Hello reports. “Meghan looked stunning in a color block pastel midi dress from Club Monaco with a black Philip Treacy hat and Aquazzura heels for the occasion,” the outlet reports. In 2019, she marked her first birthday as a mom, having given birth to Prince Archie the previous May. The then family of three (since then, Princess Lilibet has joined the party) spent the day privately at their (now former) home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage, and Hello exclusively revealed at the time that Meghan’s birthday cake was supplied by the Luminary Bakery. “The tiered carrot cake was beautifully decorated with dried oranges and garnishes, with ‘Happy Birthday Meghan’ written in chocolate icing,” the outlet writes.

Meghan Markle on her birthday in 2018, attending a wedding

This year, The Mirror reports, Meghan will ring in 42 in a low-key manner, enjoying “treats” from kids Archie and Lili and husband Harry. The outlet reports that the duchess is “looking forward to celebrations” and having a quiet day at the family home in Montecito, California.

“I imagine she is looking forward to celebrations and being treated by Prince Harry,” said PR expert Mayah Riaz, speaking to The Mirror. “They will possibly be quite toned down this year and likely to be a private affair. It’s quite possible that Meghan will spend the day of her actual birthday at home in Montecito, surrounded by her two children, Prince Harry, possibly her mother Doria [Ragland], and their rescue dogs. Meghan may also choose to celebrate her special day with a small, intimate gathering. This could be with friends at their home or at a restaurant.” The day, The Mirror reports, might cap off with Harry taking his wife out to dinner, “as the Sussex couple are known to enjoy an occasional child-free evening out and have been spotted at numerous restaurants in their area,” the outlet reports. Earlier this year, they joined the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz for sushi at Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito.

Meghan Markle wearing a maroon blazer and a poppy pin

Some suggest that Meghan might use the day to announce a new project—perhaps a return of The Tig? (Fingers crossed.) Happy birthday to you, Meghan! To many more.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.