Two key signs it’s ‘not rosy’ with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ahead of his 40th birthday revealed by royal expert

The Duke will be celebrating his milestone celebration tomorrow but plans for a lads getaway – without his wife – have sparked rampant rumours there could be trouble in paradise.

His statement ahead of the momentous occasion, upon which he will inherit an eye-water £8million from the late Queen Mother, also raised some eyebrows.

The dad-of-two showered kids Archie, five, Lilibet, three, with praise – but failed to mention Meghan.

It comes amid reports from Harry’s former pals that he is miserable in the US, hidden by Meghan’s ‘shadow’ as he’s relegated to her “plus one”.

Royal expert Hugo Vickers told The Sun that two key signs may show there are issues – that Harry didn’t make a note of Meghan in his birthday statement, and that they can’t keep hold of staff.

He said: “It is surprising that he didn’t mention his wife as he has a habit of doing so, so I can see how that leads us to speculate things are not rosy in that particular quarter.

“This birthday will be a time for him to look back and forward, I hope in a sense he will pause and think about the things he’s said and done that have been extremely damaging to relations with his own family and isolated him.”

The historian highlighted the “extraordinary” step Harry and Meg took walking away from the Firm in 2020.

But he doubted a bright future for the couple in a “highly commercial and very different world” to which the duke was raised in.

Mr Vickers also claimed the pair “rely” on the waning “royal celebrity status” Harry brings them.

“The press are interested in them now but that won’t last forever. I think he will be reflecting on that,” he said.

Speaking of Meghan and Harry’s heavily scrutinised relationship in the public eye, the royal expert suggested the duchess was “more proactive and outgoing”.

“I have always thought she is the one that sets the agenda – which he follows – how willingly I don’t know,” he continued.

“He does seem to be a plus-one. People have suggested she’s been giving him messages on what to do and how to comport himself and when I, as an outsider, look at the two of them I see a confident Meghan and a rather unhappy Prince Harry.”

The historian told how he stumbled upon a photograph of the duke with a beaming smile.

“I thought ‘hang on a minute this isn’t the Prince Harry I recognise at the moment’,” he explained.

“When I looked at the date it was from 2015, pre-Meghan.”

Amid rampant speculation there is a wedge between the pair, Mr Vickers spoke of how life has changed for the duke since moving overseas.

“I think his life is being more shaped by Meghan than himself,” he said.

“We’ve all read reports that she has isolated him from his earlier friends.

“And of course, some of his friends, and we assume Prince William, raised various anxieties about him getting married so quickly, and if he has repeated that to Meghan Markle, which I’m sure he did, that would never be forgiven, and they would be eliminated to some extent.”

The only person, according to Mr Vickers, who appears to have maintained a strong relationship with Harry is his cousin Princess Eugenie.

As stories swirl about Harry’s lost UK childhood friendships, it has been reported the duke has formed few bonds in the States.

“But if he’s going off which a group of friends all curated and hand chosen by Meghan Markle. he’s not going to have a hugely exciting boys weekend away,” claimed Mr Vickers.

“He was very excited to find Meghan, most of the time they’ve been pretty united, maybe they’re not so united at this moment.

“The bond will be the children, of whom he speaks so affectionately, I’m sure that gives him enormous satisfaction and purpose in life, looking after these small children.

“There’s a sadness there too because they’re going to grow up and realise at a certain point they don’t know their cousins.

“If you were being brought up in California and find out your first cousin was a future king of England you might have wanted to spend more time with them.”

Ahead of her husband’s 40th birthday, Meghan was dubbed “Duchess Difficult” by terrified staff, according to a brutal US report.

The mum-of-two, 43, was also described as a “dictator in high heels” who bombards employees with emails from 5am.

This came amid speculation sparked by Meghan and hubby Prince Harry’s notoriously high turnover of staff and how Josh Kettler had quit as the Sussexes’ chief of staff after just three months.

“I know people around Windsor who told how difficult she was when they were in Adelaide Cottage,” added Mr Vickers.

“There was a time when she was incredibly rude to one of the sub-gardeners, and the head gardener complained to the Queen, and she drove down to Adelaide Cottage and ticked her off.

“There’s a lot of evidence they can’t keep hold of staff and that is a very very bad sign because some people inspire huge loyalty, the late Prince Philip for example.”

The royal expert shared his long-held worry that “it will end badly” for the Sussexes.

“If you do something different, as with the Duke of Windsor, who I’ve only met once but I’ve never seen a man with such sad eyes,” he said.

The historian said it “doesn’t look good” for the pair “unless [they] deliver the goods” in a “very cutting edge, sharp world”.

He continued: “I have a feeling, as far as Prince Harry is concerned, it’s not going to end so well. I can’t say with Meghan Markle, she may have her own independent plans.

“The reason we’re talking about them is because we know Harry as a Prince. Meghan was doing a lot of good work before, but nothing compared to the profile she got by marrying Prince Harry.

“At the moment she needs him, but there may be a time where she feels she can go off on her own and has created her own identity and can discard him. I don’t want to say that but it is always a possibility.”

A representative for the Sussexes was contacted for comment.