Prince Harry ‘set to head off on ‘lads’ holiday’ to celebrate 40th birthday – with Meghan back at home and no sign of William’, ten years after brothers partied together for his 30th

Prince Harry is set to head off on a holiday with his ‘closest mates’ to celebrate his 40th birthday while Meghan stays at home, it is understood. 

The Duke of Sussex will reportedly go on the getaway after a birthday party at his £11million California home in Montecito with his family. 

Harry will ‘enjoy a weekend getaway with a few of his closest mates’, according to a report by The Sun. 

Meanwhile, Meghan is expected to stay in California with the couple’s two children, five-year-old Archie and Lilibet, three.

He was previously pictured partying with friends in Las Vegas in 2012, including in an exclusive, heavily guarded, VIP bungalow at the Nevada resort.

Prince Harry in older times enjoying a trip away with his friends in Las Vegas in 2012

Prince Harry and Meghan seen during their visit to Colombia on August 15

At the time, naked photos of the Duke of Sussex being hugged by a barely clothed woman were published in The Sun in 2012 after being posted online.

The pictures caused acute embarrassment for the royal family as well as raising security fears about how well the prince was protected on his Vegas trip.

The new travel plans come ten years after Harry celebrated his 30th birthday with his brother Prince William and Princess Catherine, alongside other friends in the UK. 

Yet the two brothers have fallen out and barely seen each other in recent years, amid criticisms of the royal family made by Harry in his book Spare. 

Meanwhile, friends of the Prince recently said he has grown increasingly unhappy with his life in the US. 

Speaking to The Times last month, a friend claimed they are among the few who get ‘the odd WhatsApp from him’, adding: ‘He’s an angry boy. Things haven’t turned out how he wanted.’ 

People within Harry’s inner circle have claimed he seems to enjoy trips back to the UK alone, while his wife Meghan prefers not to enter the country. 

Harry’s 40th birthday comes this Sunday – and he revealed this week he considers his two children to be the ‘best gift’ he has ever received.

Ahead of the milestone this Sunday, the Duke of Sussex emailed People magazine to reveal the joy he receives from his son and daughter. 

Harry wrote in the email: ‘The best gift I’ve ever been given is, without a doubt, my kids. I enjoy watching them grow every single day, and I love being their dad.’

People – which is known to be close to the Sussexes – also reported that Harry was now ‘focused on enjoying life’ with his family ‘after years of self-reflection’.

In addition, the publication cited his ongoing work through Archewell Foundation projects and the upcoming Netflix documentary Polo, due out in December.

Prince Harry and Meghan during a visit to San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, on August 17

Harry is set to kick off his birthday with Meghan, Archie and Lilibet in a low-key celebration at their mansion in Montecito.

People said this would be ‘followed by a gathering with close friends internationally’, while Hello! reported he would head on a ‘weekend getaway’ in the mountains with his closest friends.

Harry is also to set to embark on a packed solo trip to New York City later this month to ‘advance a number of his patronages and philanthropic initiatives’, his team said.

The visit is set to take place during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week on September 23 to 27 and Climate Week between September 22 and 29.

His 40th birthday revels are likely to mark a stark contrast with those for his 30th, when William threw a black-tie party for his ­little brother at Clarence House.

Thirty of his best friends toasted Harry with cases of ­Highgrove champagne sent by his father Charles.

Last month William and Harry both attended the funeral for their uncle Robert Fellowes, it has been revealed, amid an ongoing dispute between the estranged brothers.

Locals in Snettisham, Nortfolk say the pair were both in attendance at a service for Lord Fellowes, who died in July – making it the first time the royal siblings have been seen together in two years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.

The two brothers have barely spoken to each other since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the UK for the US and abandoned royal duties.

The rift was exacerbated by the publication of Harry’s memoir in January last year that levelled accusations against his family.

Harry claimed that William, 42, branded Meghan ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’, and even accused him of pushing him into a dog bowl.

The Duke last visited the UK in May to attend a service at St Paul’s Cathedral marking ten years of the Invictus Games, the sports event he helped to launch for injured soldiers.

He previously returned to the UK in February to see his father, King Charles III, after he revealed his ongoing battle with an unspecified form of cancer.

However, he did not visit his father while back in London – despite being a stone’s throw from the royal residences in the capital.