Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘hurt’ the Queen by unilaterally mapping out their future royal roles without her approval, an explosive biography has claimed.
Her Majesty is said to have been ‘blindsided’ by the launch of the SussexRoyal website which accompanied their Megxit announcement in January.
Royal aides told the authors of Finding Freedom, which is being serialised in the Times and Sunday Times, that sussexroyal.com fleshed out details for a ‘half-in-half-out model’ which had not been rubber-stamped by the Queen.
It derailed the carefully choreographed departure announcement planned by Buckingham Palace, which was caught off guard by the website.
The book claims the Palace was forced to rip up its prepared statement and instead rush out a short press communique insisting nothing had been finalised.
The Duke and Duchess’s decision to ‘clarify’ their pared-back roles without getting it signed off by the Queen, 94, was ‘deeply upsetting’ for her, according to courtiers.
Her Majesty (pictured last week) is said to have been ‘blindsided’ by the launch of the SussexRoyal website which accompanied their bombshell resignation announcement in January
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured in March) ‘hurt’ the Queen by unilaterally mapping out their future royal roles without her approval, an explosive biography has claimed.
Royal aides told the authors of Finding Freedom, which is being serialised in the Times and Sunday Times, that sussexroyal.com fleshed out details for a ‘half-in-half-out model’ which had not been rubber-stamped by the Queen
A senior member of the household was quoted in the book as saying: ‘The element of surprise, the blindsiding of the Queen, for the other principals who are all very mindful of this, rightfully, it was deeply unsettling.
‘The family is very private and bringing it into the public domain, when they were told not to, hurt the Queen.
‘It was laying out what the Sussexes wanted in a statement without consulting with Her Majesty first – and she’s the head of the institution.’
Her Majesty’s private secretary Edward Young was reportedly incandescent that the Palace had been kept in the dark about Harry and Meghan’s intentions.
Finding Freedom, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes wrangling leading up to the couple’s dramatic exit, claims Harry and Meghan were forced to release their statement because of leaked stories of their desire to settle in Canada full-time.
The Sussexes used their Instagram on January 8 to break the news they were stepping back as senior royals and wished to become financially independent
Royal sources told authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand they denied briefing the article, and instead blamed Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, for the leak, claiming they wanted to force a formal announcement of their decision to quit the Family.
The Sussexes, who deny being behind the story, used their Instagram on January 8 to break the news they were stepping back as senior royals and wished to become financially independent.
At the end of the statement, they also posted a link to sussexroyal.com, which they had set up to ‘clarify’ their position.
Springing their desired blueprint for a future relationship with the Family was a ‘huge headache,’ one courtier told Scobie and Durand.
The book claims that aides struggled to marry up the couple’s plans with the rigid structures of the monarchy.
Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, has been written by royal watchers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand
Ultimately, the biography says the Queen refused to accommodate her grandson’s vision of a stripped-back role and said he should completely cut ties with the monarchy.
‘The rules don’t bend for anyone,’ a senior courtier told the authors of Finding Freedom.
Journalists Scobie and Durand are fans of the couple and have set out to ‘correct the record’ and shift the spotlight on to their charitable ventures.
The Sussexes say they did not contribute to the book, but Scobie and Durand’s account is based on extensive insight from friends of the couple.
Sources have told the Mail that the biography will lay bare the ‘pressure cooker’ of anger and resentment the couple felt as working royals.
It chronicles the tensions sowed between the so-called Fab Four of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, once seen as the future of the monarchy.
And the fallout following the memorable Sandringham Summit is also plotted in the pages of the biography.