A photograph of Prince George alongside the late Queen and her heirs is said to have served as a 'wake up call' for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, solidifying their determination to depart from The Firm, according to an expert.
The image showed the late Queen with then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George, aged six, in the throne room at Buckingham Palace. Published in early 2020, days before Harry and Meghan announced plans to step down as working royals, the photograph showcased the future of the monarchy but reportedly triggered significant distress behind closed doors.
Expert analysis
In his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, Andrew Morton wrote: '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.'
Speaking to The Mirror's podcast Pod Save The King, Morton revealed that Harry and Meghan had begun weighing up their exit far sooner than the public realised, with conversations starting just six months after their wedding. He said: 'Harry was having conversations in a London hotel with Oprah Winfrey back in November 2018, just six months after they'd been married. So they were thinking about a different direction of travel pretty early on.'
Recent backlash
Prince Harry faced significant backlash this week following an interview with BBC News, after a judge threw out his legal challenge over his reduced security detail. In the interview, Harry said: 'I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.'
Harry claimed his security concerns 'could be resolved' via King Charles, stating: 'There is a lot of control and ability in my father's hands. Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him. Not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts to do what is necessary.'
Buckingham Palace has consistently maintained that the King does not possess the authority to reinstate Harry's security arrangements. In response, one source told the Sunday Telegraph that it demonstrated there is 'nothing that can be trusted to remain private' and 'as for their being no contact, well, he has just proven why, yet again'. A separate source told ITV News: 'For a son who claims to want a family reconciliation, it's certainly a very curious way to build bridges or offer olive branches. His beloved grandmother would have been truly horrified. The King is a kind man with a warm heart and quite enough on his plate to deal with, without all this from his son.'
