Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly concerned that the Royal Family was “against them” after the release of an official photograph.
Although there were a number of causes which led to the couple deciding to step back as working royals, royal author Andrew Morton believes one photo in particular ended up being a “wake-up call” in Harry and Meghan’s ultimate decision to leave.
The author believes things reached a boiling point when the Royal Family released an official photograph which showed the late Queen with her heirs King Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
The photo, which was taken in the throne room at Buckingham Palace, was released publicly in early 2020, just days before Harry and Meghan - who recently shared a new podcast episode - made their announcement that they would be stepping back as senior members of the family.
In his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, 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."
These fears were later said to be confirmed when Harry cancelled a meeting that had been planned with the Queen, in which he'd wanted to discuss his royal future, Morton claimed.
Speaking to The Mirror's podcast 'The Commonwealth.', Morton claimed that Harry and Meghan had started to think about leaving The Firm far earlier than the public thought and said talks began just six months after their wedding.
Morton told the podcast: "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.
"The irony is they had been given the keys to the first class lounge when Prince Harry was given the position of Youth Ambassador to William and Catherine.
"This was effectively the Queen's way of saying 'you do the rest of the world, leave Royal Family to do the UK where they will eventually be the Heads of State.'"
The couple announced that they were stepping back from their roles as working royals in January 2020.
Their statement read: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
"We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
"We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.
"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."
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