21 September 2023 , 06:00
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no strangers to controversy - with their bombshell statement revealing they were to quit as working royals shocking the world.
It came over three years ago when they said they would be striving to become financially independent and would carve out a new life in America. It followed weeks of speculation that behind the scenes the couple were unhappy with life behind palace walls. In fact, an ITV documentary at the end of 2019 featured an emotional Meghan admitting her struggles.
And it is claimed in a book that the final decision that proved to be the catalyst behind their decision to quit the Firm came after a special photo was released at the start of 2020 by Buckingham Palace. The charming snap shows the late Queen standing proudly with her heirs, the now King Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
Harry and Meghan quit the Firm more than three years ago (Getty Images)Taken in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, not only was it a snap for the family album, it also clearly laid out the future of the British Monarchy. However, according to his unauthorised biography, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, author Andrew Morton claims the photo made Harry and Meghan question their position in The Firm.
He writes: "The royal couple suspected that the entire institution was conspiring against them. As they saw it, the evidence was all around them. The unspoken code was straightforward: the future of the monarchy was assured, with or without Meghan and Harry."
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Just days after the photo was released, Meghan and Harry shocked the world by sharing a status on social media saying they were stepping back from their senior roles. Saying they had spent "many months" reflecting over the decision, they explained they planned to "carve out a progressive new role within [the] institution" while becoming financially independent.
The photo was issued at the start of 2020 of the Queen and her three heirs (Ranald Mackechnie via Getty Images)More than three years on from the snap much has changed for the Royal Family - not least caused by the death of the late Queen. However, one thing that remains is the rocky relationship between Harry, Meghan and their royal relatives. Relations between William and Harry have long been strained despite their closeness in their younger years.
The fallout is said to have begun before Harry’s wedding to former Suits star, the Duchess of Sussex, with the duke accusing William of being snobbish to his bride. But it worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in double tell-alls: his memoir, Spare, and his Netflix documentary.
In his autobiography, released just months after Elizabeth II died, Harry accused William of physically attacking him and pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan. Harry and Meghan, in their Netflix series two months after the Queen’s death, claimed Kensington Palace lied to protect William when it issued a statement denying a story he had bullied Harry out of the royal family.
Harry also wrote of how Charles pleaded with his two sons during a tense meeting at Windsor just after the funeral of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, saying: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery”.