Kate celebrated her 38th birthday on Thursday and marked the occasion by releasing a previously unseen photograph of herself and thanking the public for their good wishes. Hannah Furness, The Telegraph’s royal correspondent, has claimed the image is a subtle hint the monarchy is “still in safe hands”. The royal expert said the birthday snap gives the message of “keep calm and carry on”, following Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell announcement they were quitting as senior members of the Royal Family.

On Wednesday, the Sussex’s shared a statement to their Instagram account, sussexroyal, announcing their plans to carve out “progressive new roles” within the family.

They said they intended to become “financially independent” and split their time between the UK and North America.

The news sent shockwaves through the Royal Family, as it emerged The Queen had not been fully informed of Meghan and Harry’s decision.

Kate’s birthday picture then seemed a welcome distraction from the Sussex’s announcement.

The snap shows the smiling royal sitting on a fence as she looks away from the photographer, Matt Porteous.

Kate dons a relaxed look, wearing blue jeans, a white blouse and a grey wooly jumper.

The caption that accompanied the image read: “Thank you everyone for all your lovely messages on The Duchess of Cambridge’s birthday!”

Ms Furness said the image represented “characteristic calm” and added that it gave the impression of “keep calm and carry on: the monarchy is still in safe hands”.

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The expert went on to say William and Kate will be expected “to keep the show on the road” in the coming weeks and months as the pair will have to take over many of the Sussex’s public duties.

But it is not yet clear whether Meghan and Harry will continue to attend royal functions or carry out royal duties.

Other details yet to be decided include their security and finances, as Prince Charles currently pays for 95 percent of their expenditure.

The finer details are likely to be agreed by the end of the next week, as the Prince of Wales and Prince William rallied round to aid the Queen to find a solution.

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A Buckingham Palace source has said royal staff are working “at pace” to find work to find workable solutions to the Sussex’s decision to step back from the front line.

The source said: “The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work together at pace with government and The Sussex Household to find workable solutions.

“Expected to take days not weeks.”

The UK, US and Canadian governments are also said to be involved in the deliberations.

Meghan has since left the UK and returned to Canada, where baby Archie was staying with the family nanny, while Harry stays to finalise arrangements with The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William.

A spokeswoman for the duchess said: “I can confirm she is in Canada.”

Prince Harry is expected to fly back to join Meghan within a fortnight.

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