She may be the daughter of the Queen of Pop but Mercy's celebrations were refreshingly down-to-earth - involving cake, candles and family time.
Madonna, 55, posted a shot of Mercy blowing out the candles on her birthday cake with the caption: "Happy Birthday Mercy James ! 8 is Great! #love 4 ever"
The mum-of-four followed that up with a picture of Mercy smiling as she relaxes with big sister Lourdes, along with the caption: "Mercy James gets birthday love from her sister! #revolutionoflove'"
These family photos were a welcome change from Madonna's more controversial postings of late, which include a photo of her 13-year-old son Rocco boxing along with the caption:
"No one messes with Dirty Soap! Mama said knock you out! #disnigga"
Madonna swiftly deleted the post after receiving a tide of online disapproval and went on to post the following apology on Facebook: "I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of the N word on Instagram. It was not meant as a racial slur.. I am not a racist. There's no way to defend the use of the word. It was all about intention.. It was used as a term of endearment toward my son who is white. I appreciate that it's a provocative word and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression. Forgive me."
This social media trip came just weeks after Madonna shared an image of Rocco posing with a bottle of gin.
Watch the video above to see some of Madonna's recent Instagram postings.
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