Was THIS the photo that pushed Meghan and Harry over the edge? Sussexes were ‘put out’ by ‘Three Kings’ royal New Year portrait
- Buckingham Palace released a photograph of the Queen’s three heirs together
- The Queen was pictured alongside Prince Charles, Prince William and George
- ITV’s royal correspondent said Harry and Meghan may have been ‘put out’ by it
A portrait capturing a ‘slimmed-down’ version of the Royal Family released to mark the new decade may have been the final straw for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The photograph of the Queen, 93, alongside the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and six-year-old Prince George was taken in Buckingham Palace’s throne room on December 18, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were away in Canada.
ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship described how the portrait may have been received badly by the Sussexes, after a year in which the once inseparable brothers continued to drift apart, and Meghan admitted she was struggling with life as a royal.
2020: The photograph of the Queen, 93, alongside the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and six-year-old Prince George was taken in Buckingham Palace’s throne room on December 18, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were away in Canada
He said: ‘The portrait that Buckingham Palace released to mark the start of the decade. It was the Queen and the three future kings – and there was also a bit of video of them stirring the Christmas pudding.
‘I’m not saying they were cutting Harry and Meghan out because it was a brutal fact that Harry was never part of that line of succession but start of a decade it felt like the royal family was very much focusing on the future – the Queen and her three heirs.’
The photograph shows the Queen standing at the front in a white dress with a blue brooch, clutching her trusted Launer handbag; George in Black Watch tartan long trousers and a white shirt by British designer Rachel Riley; Charles in a navy pinstripe suit and William standing behind his father, son and grandmother, smiling in a dark suit and navy blue tie.
The photograph was only the second time that a portrait of Her Majesty and her three heirs has been issued.
Chris Ship said: ‘The portrait that Buckingham Palace released to mark the start of the decade. It was the Queen and the three future kings – and there was also a bit of video of them stirring the Christmas pudding’
2019, a ‘slimmed-down’ royal family: The Queen sits beside photographs of Charles and Camilla (1), Prince Philip (2), the Cambridges’ Christmas card picture (3), and her father George VI (4) in her 2019 Christmas address
2019: Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George preparing special Christmas puddings in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, London, as part of the launch of The Royal British Legion’s Together at Christmas initiative
The first was released in April 2016 to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, with the picture then printed on commemorative stamps.
A similarly ‘slimmed-down’ image of the royal family was presented during the Queen’s Christmas speech last year following reports that Charles, 71, wanted to cut down on the number of working royals.
Last year saw the Duke of York stepping back from public life following November’s ‘car crash’ BBC interview that say him try to explain his friendship with convicted US padeophile Jeffrey Epstein.
2016: Prince George standing on foam blocks during a Royal Mail photoshoot for a stamp sheet to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The image features four generations of the Royal family, from left, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George and the Duke of Cambridge, and the picture was taken in the summer of 2015 in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace
The Queen, Charles, William and George made Christmas puddings in Buckingham Palace pictured in front of a Christmas tree adorned with regal corgi and crown decorations
The new snap came just two weeks after the royals marked the festive season with another series of photos.
The Queen, Charles, William and George made Christmas puddings in Buckingham Palace pictured in front of a Christmas tree adorned with regal corgi and crown decorations.
In footage that was played during the Queen’s Christmas message, George was seen repeatedly stabbing the thick pudding mixture with a wooden spoon, making his grandfather chuckle.