A touching photo of Prince George allegedly played a pivotal role in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to leave the Royal Family, according to author Andrew Morton. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were reportedly already considering their departure, but a specific image of the young prince cemented their resolve.
Morton claims that a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II with her heirs—King Charles, Prince William, and a six-year-old Prince George—released in early 2020, days before Harry and Meghan announced their exit, acted as a “wake-up call” for the couple. The picture, taken in the throne room at Buckingham Palace, symbolized the future of the monarchy and, according to Morton, left the Sussexes feeling sidelined.
“The royal couple suspected that the entire institution was conspiring against them. As they saw it, the evidence was all around them,” Morton wrote in his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. “The unspoken code was straightforward: the future of the monarchy was assured, with or without Meghan and Harry.”
Morton also suggests that these suspicions were reinforced when a scheduled meeting between Harry and the Queen to discuss his royal future was abruptly canceled. “This sense that, despite their international popularity, they were low down the royal totem pole was confirmed when Harry arranged to meet the Queen for a grandson-to-grandmother chat in early January. At the last minute, the meeting was postponed,” Morton explained. “Charles suspected classic internal politics, his family concerned that anything the Queen agreed during informal conversations would be used by Harry as a negotiating tactic.”
In an interview on The Mirror’s podcast Pod Save The King, Morton revealed that Harry and Meghan had been contemplating their departure much earlier than previously known. “Harry was having conversations in a London hotel with Oprah Winfrey back in November 2018, just six months after they’d been married,” Morton said. “So they were thinking about a different direction of travel pretty early on.”
Morton highlighted the irony of their situation, noting that Harry had been appointed Youth Ambassador by the Queen, which seemed to signal a significant role within the Royal Family. Despite this, the couple felt increasingly marginalized and decided to step back from their royal duties.
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan officially announced their decision to step down as senior members of the Royal Family. Their statement read: “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.”
The announcement also emphasized their desire to balance their time between the UK and North America, allowing them to raise their son with an appreciation for royal traditions while pursuing their own charitable endeavors.
At the time, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman acknowledged the couple’s intentions but noted that discussions were “at an early stage” and that the issues involved were “complicated” and would “take time to work through.”