Prince Harry and Meghan Markle felt rejected by Queen Elizabeth II during their high-profile Christmas speech, seeing it as proof that they were being kicked out of the royal family, according to a new book.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex felt they were “noticeably absent” from family photos surrounding the Queen as she spoke from Buckingham Palace, according to an excerpt from “Finding Freedom” published in The Times of London.
The rest of the royalty, including Harry’s brother William and his family, along with the princes’ father, Prince Charles, were proudly on display.
According to the book, they already felt that “the institution” of the monarchy had “left them out for a long time”, they saw it as proof that “they were not a fundamental part of their future”.
“For Harry and Meghan, it had been another sign that they should consider their own path,” wrote authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.
At the time, the couple was under fire for vacationing with baby Archie in Canada, breaking tradition by being away from the rest of royalty.
Just a few weeks later, on January 8, Harry and Meghan announced their plans to abandon royal duties after leaking to The Sun newspaper, finally forcing through Megxit.
The queen was also accused of deleting the Sussex photo from her courtroom at Buckingham Palace earlier last year. In stark contrast, she had shown two photos of the family the previous Christmas, including an official wedding portrait.
Palace sources had insisted that the omission of photos was not a snub, but simply a representation of the succession hotline, the book notes.
The Queen also highlighted the Sussexs during her broadcast, saying how “delighted” she was with Archie’s birth.
While their photo was not on their table, the broadcast included a picture of the couple introducing baby Archie to the Queen and Prince Philip, along with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
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