The photo that pushed Harry, Meghan out of the royal family

Prince Harry’s relationship with his family was on thin ice the year after he married Meghan Markle and the publication of one famous photo pushed it further over the edge.

Britain's King Charles prepares to address Senators and members of the National Assembly at the French Senate in Paris. pICTURE: afp

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally decided to pull the plug on their senior royal roles once a certain heir photo was released by Buckingham Palace.

According to author Andrew Morton, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were taken aback when a 2020 photo of the late Queen Elizabeth II — and her heirs, the now King Charles, Prince William and Prince George — made its debut, reports the New York Post.

“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,” Morton claimed in his unauthorised biography, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.

The photo of Prince George, a then Prince Charles, Prince William and the Queen was released in early 2020, just before Prince Harry left the royal family. Picture: Getty Images

The photograph was taken in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. Two days after its release, the Sussexes announced that they would be officially leaving the Royal Family.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment,” their statement, which was released on January 8, 2020, read at the time.

In the year before her death, the Queen was often seen publicly with a ‘slimmed down’ royal family. Picture: Getty Images

“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity,” they continued.
“We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”

This photo of ‘the heirs’ was taken in 2016. Picture: Getty Images

The couple now lives in California, with son Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 2. Their choice to leave the UK launched an even deeper feud between the brothers — not to mention, the release of Prince Harry’s book Spare and the couple’s Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.

In the docuseries, Prince Harry claimed that Prince William yelled at him over his decision.
“It was terrifying to have my brother screaming and shouting at me, and my father say things that simply weren’t true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in,” he said.

He added: “The saddest part of it was this wedge created between me and my brother, so that he’s now on the institution side. And part of that I get — I understand that’s his inheritance and its already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survival of this institution.”

The ‘fab four’ is no longer. Picture: Getty Images

He also alleged that there was “institutional gaslighting” and that Ms Markle was “being fed to the wolves.”
“They’re happy to lie to protect my brother, but they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us,” he said.

In his autobiography, released just months after Queen Elizabeth died, Harry also accused Prince William of physically attacking him and pushing him into a dog bowl over an argument about Ms Markle.

The brothers would go on to reunite for the first time publicly to pay tribute to the Queen at a memorial in September 2022. However, they appeared to not speak or even cross paths when Prince Harry — who did not join for the festivities — returned to the UK for dad King Charles’ coronation in May. He sat three rows behind Prince William, Princess Catherine and their three children. After the service, Prince Harry immediately flew back to California.

CHARLES’ TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO QUEEN

King Charles III has said the late Queen’s “golden thread will forever shine brightly” as he became the first British monarch to address the French senate in Paris.

In his historic speech delivered in both French and English inside the chamber, he said the UK will always be one of France’s “best friends” and said the kindness the country had shown his late mother and grandmother would forever warm his heart.

Britain's King Charles addresses Senators and members of the National Assembly at the French Senate, the first time a member of the British Royal Family has spoken from the Senate Chamber. Picture: AFP

“Ours is a partnership forged through shared experience, and one which remains utterly vital as, together, we confront the challenges of our world,” he told politicians.

“Quite simply, the United Kingdom will always be one of France’s closest allies and best friends.”

In his address which comes just two weeks after the first anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, he said France had been a comfort to him at the time of her passing on September 8 and that on each of his 35 visits to France he had been “struck … by the immense good that can be accomplished when France and the United Kingdom work together”.

King Charles III reacts while sitting in a chair as he prepares to address Senators and members of the National Assembly. Picture: Getty

Thanking the people of France, he went on: “Thank you for the great kindness you showed to us, and our people, at a time of such grief”.

“When my mother died almost exactly one year ago, my family and I were moved beyond measure by the tributes that were paid to her across France.

“This morning, I read again the deeply touching words of condolence that Your Excellencies, Presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, wrote at that time.

“You described Her late Majesty as having embodied the dignity of our own democracy and that as ‘she loved France, France loved her’.

“I can hardly describe how much these words meant to me, and to my entire family.

“Inspired and encouraged by my grandmother’s and my late mother’s example, France has been an essential part of the fabric of my own life for as long as I can remember,” he added.

“Each and every time, I have been struck by the warmth of the welcome I have always received, and by the immense good that can be accomplished when France and the United Kingdom work together.

“Now, on the occasion of my first state visit to France, my belief in the indispensable relationship between our countries is as firm as it has ever been.”