MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry were “convinced” the royals were “against them” after the Queen’s 2020 New Year photo, a royal author has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were absent from the snap shared by Her Majesty to mark the new decade.
Taken in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, the photo features the Queen surrounded by her son Prince Charles, grandson Prince William and great-grandson Prince George – laying out the future of the British Monarchy.
But according to royal author Andrew Morton, the photo made Harry and Meghan question their position in The Firm, the Mirror reports.
Writing in his unauthorised biography, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, he claims: “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.”
Just days after the photo was released, the Sussexes shocked the world by announcing they were stepping back from royal duties.
They said they had spent “many months” reflecting over the decision, adding they planned to “carve out a progressive new role within [the] institution” while becoming financially independent.
Buckingham Palace responded at the time by saying it understood the couple’s their desire to take a different approach, but added “these are complicated issues that will take time to work through”.
The couple have since gone on to set up their new life in California, welcoming their daughter Lilibet in June 2021.
It’s set to be another big year for the royals, who are expected to release a number of projects they’ve been working on with firms like Netflix and Spotify.
The most hotly anticipated, however, is the release of Harry’s bombshell memoir, expected to share insight into why he and Meghan chose to leave royal life.
In a statement confirming the book, Harry said: “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man, I have become.
“I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.
A blurb from publisher Penguin Random House read: “In an intimate and heartfelt memoir from one of the most fascinating and influential global figures of our time, Prince Harry will share, for the very first time, the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him.”
