Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly convinced that the "entire institution" was against them during their time working in the Royal Family due to an "unspoken code". While there were a number of causes which ultimately contributed to their departure, it has been said that one key moment was the "final straw" and "tipped them over the edge" to step back from their roles within The Firm.
According to the biography 'Finding Freedom', Harry and Meghan were furious when a photograph of them and their new baby, Archie, was not included in the line-up of family portraits displayed on the Queen's desk during her Christmas message in 2019. While it is known that the couple were planning their departure as early as six months after their wedding, authors close to the couple allege this was the moment that the pair reached boiling point.
Before they announced that they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan reportedly believed the Royal Family and senior staff were "conspiring against them" and trying to show that the monarchy was secure with or without them in the picture.
While the wheels were already fully in motion for the pair to transform their royal roles, the “final straw” for the couple was reportedly when the Queen’s 2019 Christmas speech aired.
The late Queen usually gave her annual speech surrounded by touching pictures of her family members either at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
In 2019, there were images of King George VI, King Charles and The Queen Consort, the late Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince and Princess of Wales with their three children.
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The biography ‘Finding Freedom’ claims the couple were irritated that no picture of them and their baby son Archie was visible on the desk as Her Majesty gave her speech.
According to authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Harry and Meghan felt they "had long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future."
The authors wrote: "One didn’t have to look further than the family photos displayed during the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day.
"In the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, where the Queen delivered her address, viewers glimpsed photos of the Cambridges and their children, Charles and Camilla, Prince Philip, and a black-and-white image of George VI. Noticeably absent was a photo of Harry, Meghan, and their new baby, Archie.
"Palace sources insisted that the photos were chosen to represent the direct line of succession, but for Harry and Meghan, it had been yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path."
However, Harry and Meghan were not completely forgotten in the Christmas Day speech that year as never-before-seen footage of the Queen and Prince Philip meeting Archie for the first time with Harry, Meghan and Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland, was included.
Shortly into the new year, a special photograph released by the Royal Family was also said to have upset the couple. The official image showed the late Queen and her heirs, King Charles, Prince William and Prince George.
The happy image was taken in the throne room at Buckingham Palace and was shared publicly at the beginning of 2020, just days before Harry and Meghan made the earth-shattering announcement that they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals. On the face of it, the picture simply lined up the future of the monarchy and mirrored many historic portraits which have shown the monarch with his or her direct heirs.
Despite the precedent, royal author Andrew Morton claimed it caused upset behind palace walls. 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."
