One key moment in 2019 was the final straw from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

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Prince Harry and Meghan were reportedly left saddened (Image: Getty)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s sensational departure from the Royal Family in 2020 was made easier after one moment “tipped them over the edge” at Christmas, a royal book claimed. The perceived snub convinced the couple that the “entire institution” was against them during their time in the Firm due to an “unspoken code”.

While there were several causes that ultimately contributed to them stepping back, it has been said that one key moment during the festive period in 2019 was the “final straw”.

According to the biography, Finding Freedom, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were left furious when a photograph of them and their new baby, Prince Archie, was not included in the line-up of family portraits displayed on Queen Elizabeth’s desk during her traditional Christmas message.

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Harry and Meghan were reportedly saddened that a photograph of their son, Archie, wasn’t included (Image: PA)

Before they announced they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals, Harry and Meghan reportedly believed the Royal Family and senior staff were “conspiring against them” and trying to show that the monarchy was secure with or without them in the picture.

Queen Elizabeth always gave her annual speech surrounded by pictures of her family members, either at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. In 2019, there were images of her father, King George VI, King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales with their three children.

The explosive biography Finding Freedom claims the couple were irritated that no picture of them and their baby son Archie was visible on the desk as Her Majesty gave her speech.

According to authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Harry and Meghan felt they “had long been sidelined by the institution and were not a fundamental part of its future.”

The Royal Family Attend Church On Christmas Day

The couple haven’t spent Christmas with the royals since 2018 (Image: Getty)

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The family spent Christmas 2019 in Canada (Image: PA)

The authors 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.

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

However, Harry and Meghan were not completely forgotten in the Christmas Day speech that year as never-before-seen footage of the Queen and Prince Philip meeting Archie for the first time with Harry, Meghan and Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland, was included.