Why Prince Harry Is Being Urged To Be 'Careful' Over His Birthday Announcement

A royal expert has warned Prince Harry to be "careful" if he plans to use his 37th birthday this Wednesday to highlight a charitable initiative.

Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle used her 40th birthday last month to bring attention to her 40x40 initiative, in which she asked celebrity pals to donate 40 minutes of their time to support women going back to work.

Speaking to OK! Magazine, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams suggested that the Duke of Sussex may follow his wife's lead and make an announcement related to the charities he supports.

"The Sussexes like to announce charity initiatives on their birthdays. We saw it last year when Harry announced funding for CAMFED, a charity helping support African girls in education, so it's possible he will do something similar this year," he told the outlet.

However, Fitzwilliams said that Prince Harry should be cautious because the message he puts out may later have an impact on his wife if Markle potentially pursues a career in politics in the future.

"Of course, you can never predict what Harry is going to say and do, but Harry has already put out a statement supporting military veterans in the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal. It's a big crisis and it would be a reasonable assumption that any birthday initiative might be linked to Afghanistan and the refugee crisis," Fitzwilliams explained.

He continued, "But [Prince Harry] would have to be careful not to say anything critical of President Biden. Harry and Meghan seem to see their future in the U.S. and Harry will have to watch what he says about U.S. domestic matters, especially as it's been speculated that Meghan is eyeing up a future in politics."

Fitzwilliams added that he "wouldn't be surprised" if Prince Harry announces initiatives supporting some of his charities, which include Sentebale, the Children's HIV Association (CHIVA), Myna Mahila Foundation and Scotty's Little Soldiers, among many others. The duke may also put out a message about his Invictus Games, which will be held in spring 2022 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Meanwhile, rumors of Markle's hypothetical presidential aspirations have been circulating for a while, though the duchess has never publicly spoken about wanting to have a career in politics.

Vanity Fair published a report last year citing an unnamed "close friend" of Markle who said they think the duchess would consider running for president if she didn't have a royal title.

"One of the reasons she was so keen not to give up her American citizenship was so she had the option to go into politics," the insider said. "I think if Meghan and Harry ever gave up their titles she would seriously consider running for president."

However, another source who works closely with Markle told the outlet that the duchess has no plans to pursue a political career. "While there's no denying she is interested and engaged in politics as a topic, she harbors no ambition to enter a career in politics herself," the unnamed insider was quoted as saying.

Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., had the same opinion when he was recently asked about rumors that his daughter plans to run for president in the future.

"From beginning to end, I think it’s a complete joke," Thomas told GB News in an interview last month. "I don't think she has any ambition to be a mayor. I don’t think she has any ambition to be a governor or president. I don't think that's in her mind at all."