The British monarchy is widely recognized for its adherence to royal protocol, which extends to its birthday festivities. One long-standing royal birthday ritual, however, has evolved dramatically in recent years—and for good cause.

Prior to the year 2020, the bells of Westminster Abbey rang to commemorate the birthdays of royal family members, including the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, King Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

However, because of budgetary constraints during the lockdown, the royal birthday bell ringing at the historic London location was drastically reduced. In 2022, Westminster Abbey announced that the bells would only sound on the birthdays of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, the then-heir to the throne. Following Queen Elizabeth’s death on September 8, 2022, the Abbey was obliged to change their timetable once again, indicating that the bells would ring for King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales throughout the year 2023.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s birthdays are not celebrated at the Abbey since they are not now working members of the British royal family, and this isn’t the first royal birthday custom the couple has been excluded from in recent years.

As observant royals may have noticed, the official royal family social media accounts did not celebrate Prince Harry’s 39th birthday in September 2023, which led many to speculate as to why. Following King Charles III’s accession to the throne in 2022, a new set of guidelines for how royal birthdays are honored online were formed, as well as the reason why the British monarchy did not publish about Prince Harry’s birthday.