The Duke and Duchess of Sussex finally decided to go their own way after being snubbed by the royal family at Christmas. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as senior royals in 2020, with one moment the year before being the final straw.
In 2019, they had spent Christmas with Meghan’s mother in America. They were reportedly left furious during the late Queen’s broadcast.
The monarch’s desk was full of family portraits, with one missing. There was no picture of Harry, Meghan and their son Archie.
Royal author Omid Scobie has claimed that the Sussexes believed this move was the family “conspiring against them”.
They felt they had “long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future”.
Scobie wrote in Finding Freedom: “One didn’t have to look further than the family photos displayed during the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day.
“In the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, where the Queen delivered her address, viewers glimpsed photos of the [Waleses] and their children, Charles and Camilla, Prince Philip, and a black-and-white image of George VI.
“Noticeably absent was a photo of Harry, Meghan, and their new baby, Archie.”
The author said palace sources insisted the photos were chosen to represent the “direct line of succession”.
But Scobie said Harry and Meghan felt it was “yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path”.
The Sussexes announced they would be stepping down in January 2020 and moved to Montecito in California.
