Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the Royal Family “furious” after being excluded from a key moment during the Queen’s Christmas broadcast in 2019 – a decision insiders now tell RadarOnline.com was the “final straw” before the couple stepped back from royal life.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seven months into parenthood with Prince Archie, now 6, when they spent Christmas 2019 in Canada with Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland.
A Noticeable Absence from the Royal Desk
According to the biography Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the couple were tipped over the edge when a photograph of them and their newborn son was absent from the family display on the Queen’s desk during her annual address.
“One didn’t have to look further than the family photos displayed during the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day,” the authors wrote.
“In the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, where the Queen delivered her address, viewers glimpsed photos of the (Waleses) and their children, Charles and Camilla, Prince Philip, and a black-and-white image of George VI. Noticeably absent was a photo of Harry, Meghan, and their new baby, Archie.”
‘No Intention of Excluding Anyone’
Royal sources told Scobie and Durand the portraits were chosen to represent the direct line of succession, but Harry and Markle are said to have interpreted the omission as a sign they had been sidelined by the institution.
A palace source familiar with the event claimed: “The Queen was following tradition and emphasizing the line of succession. She had no intention of excluding anyone, but Harry and Meghan interpreted it differently. That Christmas became a defining moment in how they viewed their role within the family.”
Another insider noted: “Harry and Meghan had been feeling increasingly sidelined within the Firm at the time. But the missing photograph made their long-standing frustrations painfully obvious.”
During that festive period, the Sussexes also missed the Queen’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace and were absent from the traditional gathering at Sandringham, which is attended by immediate and extended family members.
A Fractured Relationship
It was the second time Harry had missed Christmas with his family, the first being his deployment to Afghanistan in 2012.
In January 2020, just weeks after that Christmas, the pair announced they were stepping back as senior royals and relocating to North America, where they now live with Archie and their daughter Lilibet, 4.
Their decision sparked global media coverage and a lasting debate about royal protocol, family loyalty, and the pressures faced by modern royals.
Since their departure, the relationship between the Sussexes and the Royal Family has remained fractured.
Public revelations, including their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix docuseries released in 2022, and Harry’s memoir Spare in 2023, have further inflamed tensions.
A palace source claimed, “Every move or statement by the Sussexes still sends ripples through the family. Trust has been eroded, and restoring it is taking time.”
Insiders add the 2019 Christmas incident, while seemingly minor, has become emblematic of those broader future grievances.
“It wasn’t only about a single photograph,” a source elaborated. “It represented a recurring sense of being left out and unsupported. That moment compelled them to chart their own course.”
Now, six years on, the absence of Harry and Markle from Royal Family Christmases remains a stark reminder of the rift and the personal choices that reshaped the modern monarchy.
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