The Duchess of Sussex marked her birthday with a playful nod to one of her favorite hobbies, celebrating with a two-tier cake inspired by mahjong.
Meghan, who is based in Montecito, turned 45 on Tuesday and shared her gratitude with fans, thanking them “for the birthday love” beside a photo of herself leaping into an outdoor swimming pool.
The birthday tributes also came from her inner circle. Close friend and fashion designer Tracy Robbins shared a glimpse of Meghan’s cake on Instagram Stories, along with a collection of affectionate photos celebrating their friendship.
“Happy birthday to my partner in crime,” Tracy wrote, adding: “Love doing life with you one bam bird at a time. Love you @meghan.”
The “bam bird” is a reference to a mahjong tile, tying the message to the classic strategy game believed to have roots in 19th-century China. The game, which involves drawing and discarding tiles to build winning sets, has become a regular pastime for Meghan and a close-knit circle of friends, including Tracy, who are known as the “Maj Squad.”
In the cake photo, Meghan’s name appeared in gold icing across the dessert. Another image showed the Duchess blowing out candles while wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and her £4,145 Logan Hollowell Queen Emerald Cut Cuban Choker.
Tracy’s black-and-white photo series also included a shot of friends gathered around a mahjong table, a dinner snap of Tracy and Meghan together, and another picture of the pair enjoying cocktails.
Meghan has spoken often about her enthusiasm for mahjong. In the first season of her lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, the mother-of-two hosted Tracy, beauty entrepreneur Victoria Jackson and literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh for a game night complete with tacos and cocktails.
The Duchess of Sussex celebrated her 45th birthday on Tuesday – and shared footage of the day on Instagram
Last year, the Duchess’s close friend Vicky Tsai, the founder of Tatcha skincare, shed light on Meghan and Harry’s hobbies, revealing both enjoy playing mahjong and have taken up pickleball – an increasingly popular paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.
Speaking to People magazine, she said: ‘She’s really creative and curious. She enjoys things that you wouldn’t expect – like mahjong.
‘She’s constantly trying to pull me into her weekly mahjong group. And she and Harry are pretty passionate about pickleball. They are trying to convince me to join the group!’
Earlier this summer in June, Meghan added a new member to her ‘Maj Squad’ – Kelly McKee Zajfen.
Kelly, the Alliance of Moms co-founder – a non-profit that provides support to pregnant and parenting youth in LA’s foster care system, joined the Duchess, whom she has been friends with for 20 years, for a game in the sunshine.
Taking to Instagram, Kelly, a former model, shared a picture of herself playing the game outdoors with cocktails, before thanking ‘M & T’ in the caption, a reference to Meghan and Tracy.
She captioned the picture: ‘Ugh, oh. Another one has been taken by the Maj bug. That being me.
‘A perfect day spent with my ladies and having some much needed mama time. Thanks M & T. Now back to the babes and obsessing over my next game.’
Tracy Robbins shared a selection of pictures from the special occasion, including Meghan’s cake
Tracy then shared the picture to her Stories, writing: ‘You are a natural. Love you. Miss you already.’
It comes after Meghan posted a new clip of her dancing to a happy birthday song earlier this week.
The Duchess posted a series of videos from the day on Instagram, showing her bopping to the music and laughing as she and Prince Harry put paper hats on their two dogs, Pula and Mamma Mia.
Her lifestyle brand As Ever also congratulated the mother-of-two with a snap of Meghan wearing a Céline shirt and white Anine Bing ‘Brie’ jeans.
The company’s social media post also included a throwback photo of a young Meghan sporting pigtails and a white turtleneck, seated in what looks to be her childhood bedroom.
The brand wrote: ‘Happy birthday to our founder, @meghan. Lighting No. 084 to celebrate!’
The caption referenced a candle sold by the brand, which appeared alongside other As Ever products in one of a quartet of photos posted to celebrate Meghan’s special day.
