Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'hit breaking point' over brutal Christmas snub

As a new decade dawned in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped the bombshell that they were quitting their royal roles - and it seems an incident just weeks before at Christmas may have spurred on their decision

Family tensions can often boil over during the Christmas and New Year period - just ask Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

It was in early January in 2020 that the Sussexes shocked the world by announcing they were to sensationally quit their royal roles and leave the UK. And according to a contoversial royal book, it was actually an incident over Christmas just weeks earlier that had left them "furious", leaving them certain they needed to make their "own path".

During Christmas 2019, Harry, Meghan and a baby Prince Archie decided to skip the royal festive celebrations at Sandringham and instead spent time in Canada with Meghan's mum Doria.

But when it came to one major fixture of the season, the late Queen's Christmas message, they were reportedly left angry due to the family portraits on her desk - as none of them featured the Sussexes.

In the book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claim the couple believed the Royal Family were "conspiring against them" with the move. They said the couple felt they had "long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future".

They wrote: "One didn't have to look further than the family photos displayed during the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day. 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." The authors said palace sources insisted the photos were chosen to represent the "direct line of succession".

However, Omid and Carolyn said Harry and Meghan felt it was "yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path." It came following weeks of speculation they were unhappy with palace life and it has also been claimed that a further photo released to mark 2020 was another catalyst behind their decision.

At the start of that year, the late Queen released a stunning photo of herself standing proudly with her son now King Charles, grandson Prince William and great-grandson Prince George. Taken in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, not only was it a snap for the family album, it also clearly laid out the future of the British Monarchy.

However, according to his unauthorised biography, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, author Andrew Morton claims the photo made Harry and Meghan question their position in The Firm.

He writes: "The royal couple suspected that the entire institution was conspiring against them. As they saw it, the evidence was all around them. The unspoken code was straightforward: the future of the monarchy was assured, with or without Meghan and Harry."