Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down as working royals in January 2020, less than two years after their wedding. And according to an expert, their decision was triggered by a photo of their nephew
14:00, 18 Oct 2025Updated 15:15, 18 Oct 2025
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle(Image: Netflix)
After having their first face-to-face meeting in months, many hope Prince Harry and King Charles can get their fragile relationship back on track.
It comes after Harry claimed his father previously wasn’t speaking to him after a family fall out. Issues between the Sussexes and the royals can be traced back to the time they decided to quit royal life. And it according to one royal author, was a photo fo the Firm featuring Prince George that proved to be a ‘wake up call’ for Harry and his wife Meghan, and cemented their decision to quit life in the UK.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle’s subtle swipe at royals as she claims she had ‘no plan’ when she quit UKREAD MORE: Meghan Markle’s subtle swipe at royals as she claims she had ‘no plan’ when she quit UK
The Queen’s new official portrait with heirs Charles, William and George(Image: PA)
The image in question showed the late Queen with her three heirs, the then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George, who was six at the time, in the throne room at Buckingham Palace to mark the dawn of a new decade in 2020.
It was released days before Harry and Meghan first confirmed they planned to step down as working royals. On the face of it, the picture simply showcased the future of the monarchy and mirrored many historic portraits. But it is alleged to have caused upset behind the scenes.
In his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, Andrew 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.”
Speaking to The Mirror’s podcast Pod Save The King, Morton further revealed 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. 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.”
Harry and Meghan in New York last week (Image: Variety via Getty Images)
Earlier this week, a source claimed that any reconcilation between Harry and his father does risk derailment after Harry’s latest move amid his security arrangements in the UK.
An insider close to the Duke of Sussex said that he wrote to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood shortly after her appointment to the role and submitted a formal request for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), overseen by the Home Office.
It comes after Harry lost an appeal in May challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of Ravec that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.
He is not automatically entitled to police protection since he quit his royal role and currently receives ‘bespoke’ protection on a case-by-case basis.
But now a source has told The Sunday Times that his letter to Ms Mahmood, will make the King ‘wary’ of speaking to his younger son, saying: “It’s not going to help matters. We’re back to where we were.”
Sources close to Harry had previously suggested that the King could have intervened in the case, but palace sources have shut this down.
The Sunday Times reports that the King and his advisers had hoped the Court of Appeal ruling would draw a line under the issue – and help get his relationship with Harry back on track.
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