Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plotted their exit from royal duties not long after their wedding, according to an expert(Image: RAUL ARBOLEDA, AFP via Getty Images)Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s strained ties with the Royal Family appear to be irreparable, with the Duke alleging that his father, the King, has stopped talking to him. The rift between the Sussexes and the royals can be traced back to their decision to step away from royal duties.
A sweet photo of Prince George served as a ‘wake up call’ for Harry and Meghan their decision to depart from the Firm, a Royal expert suggests. The picture in question depicted the late Queen with her three successors, then-Prince Charles, Prince William, and six year old Prince George, in Buckingham Palace’s throne room.
The image was unveiled at the start of 2020, just days before Harry and Meghan announced their intention to resign as working royals. At first glance, the photo simply represented the monarchy’s future, echoing many historical portraits. However, it is said to have sparked discontent behind the scenes.
In his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, Andrew Morton said: “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.”
Andrew suggested Harry and Meghan may have been plotting their royal exit far earlier than was publicly known. Speaking to the Mirror’s Pod Save The King podcast, 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.”
The late Queen’s official portrait with heirs Charles, William and George(Image: PA)This revelation emerges amid the backlash Harry faced following an interview he gave to BBC News, hot on the heels of a legal snub where his bid for reinstated security measures after stepping away from royal duties in 2020 was rejected by a judge.
In the wake of this, 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.”
Prince Harry sat down with the BBC in a shocking interview and said the King would not talk to him(Image: BBC)Harry then made a significant claim about his ongoing security saga, saying: “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.”
The palace has consistently denied that the King has the power to have Harry’s security reinstated. In response, one source told the Sunday Telegraph that it showed 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”.
And another insider 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.”