Harry and Meghan quit royal family after the Queen's 'snub'

Finding Freedom, the book that looks into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from the royal family and their subsequent move to the US, has claimed the reason they decided to leave was due to a snub from the Queen.

The book, which was written by royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, claims the couple decided it was time to leave after being offended by the images that were seen on the Queen's desk during her 2019 Christmas broadcast.

The Queen only had four family photos behind her with the snaps showing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and King George VI – the Queen’s father.

Harry, Meghan and their son Archie were noticeably absent.

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"Harry felt as though he and Meghan had long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future,” the book claims.

"Palace sources insisted that the photos were chosen to represent the direct line of succession, but for Harry and Meghan, it was yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path."

In January, the couple announced their plans to step down as senior members of the royal family.

They said that they wanted to become "financially independent" and split their time between the UK and North America.

Following this, they were forced to drop their Sussex Royal brand and repay taxpayer money that was spend on renovations on Frogmore Cottage.

Royal reporter for the Daily Mirror and co-host of Pod Save The Queen podcast Russell Myers also revealed on the Channel 5 documentary Meghan and Harry: The New Revelations that he also believed the lack of photos tipped the couple over the edge.

"The lack of photograph of them during the Queen's Christmas speech obviously had an effect on them... They felt it was a slight, they felt put out."

The couple moved to Los Angeles shortly before the coronavirus lockdown began following a short stint in Canada.

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