Prince Harry's life since he and Meghan stepped back from their roles as senior working royals has been anything but uneventful. While there have been a number of veiled jabs at the Royal Family ever since their departure, a royal historian has claimed that one moment in particular caused the late Queen to "hit back" at her grandson and his wife.
In his book Battle of Brothers, author Robert Lacey wrote that the decision made by the Sussexes to commercialise under their own royal trademark prompted the Queen to put her foot down as the couple were acting without her permission. However, this isn't the only time the couple allegedly came to blows with the sovereign behind palace walls.
In his biography Battle of Brothers, royal historian Robert Lacey claims Meghan and Harry's decision to sell merchandise under their own royal trademark 'Sussex Royal' without the Queen's permission was a step too far and caused the "family to finally hit back".
Members of The Firm producing their own goods isn't a new concept as King Charles sells various organic products in his Duchy Originals range and royal residences up and down the country sell souvenirs for visitors.
Despite this, the issue with Harry and Meghan arose as they failed to get consent from the late monarch before they announced their plan. The couple are said to have spent thousands of pounds trademarking a number of products which ranged from T-shirts to bandanas.
Lacey wrote: "Once again Harry had totally failed to consult the Queen about a major initiative affecting his royal work and image — and the image of the crown as a whole. The family finally hit back.
Love the royals? Sign up for the Mirror's daily newsletter to get all the latest news on the Queen, Charles, Kate, Wills, Meghan, Harry and the rest of The Firm. Click here to sign up .
"Elizabeth II had always had a soft spot for Harry, and she had been delighted by the arrival of Meghan, whose personal energies seemed to complement her grandson’s so well.
"As Head of the Commonwealth and reigning over an ever more multicultural society in Britain, the Queen had especially welcomed the exciting new dimension that a mixed-race recruit brought to the Windsor identity — and as we shall see later in this series, she herself had spotted when things were going wrong, and had helped devise a strategy she firmly hoped would make things easier for the couple.
"But there were some matters on which Elizabeth II would not compromise — and chief among them was the authority of the crown.
By not disclosing their plans to market merchandise under their own royal trademark, Harry and Meghan had trespassed dangerously on that authority. To commercialise the crown required the crown’s consent — and the Sussexes had not sought that."
This was not the first time the late monarch was forced to speak with the couple about their behaviour as author Katie Nicholl recalled one "tense" exchange in her book The New Royals.
She wrote that on one occasion in the run-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding, the bride-to-be went to Windsor Castle for a menu-tasting and clashed with one of the caterers over a dish which was supposed to be vegan.
Nicholl wrote: “Meghan was at the castle to taste some of the dishes and told one of the caterers she could taste egg. She got quite upset, saying that the dish was meant to be vegan and macrobiotic, when suddenly the Queen walked in and said: 'Meghan, in this family we don't speak to people like that.'”
This isn't the only tension that came to light in the lead up to the couple's wedding as Tina Brown wrote in her book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil that Meghan used the late Queen's trusted aide and close friend, Angela Kelly, like a Hollywood stylist.
She writes: " Meghan did not - or could not - perceive the difference between the Queen’s personal aide and a contract stylist at NBC Universal." There have been numerous reports of a row over Meghan's wedding day tiara, with Harry reportedly saying "what Meghan wants, Meghan gets" after she was refused permission to wear her first choice.
A source told Brown there was "lots of raging" in the lead up to their wedding and that Meghan would shout in front of staff. The author added that she was told that Meghan and Harry share a mutual addiction to drama.
