A charming photo of Prince George reportedly served as a 'wake up call' for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, solidifying their decision to step back from the Royal Family, according to Royal expert Andrew Morton. The couple allegedly felt that the Royal Family were 'plotting against them', with the release of a particular photograph reinforcing this belief.

The image depicted the late Queen alongside her three successors - then-Prince Charles, Prince William and six year old Prince George - in Buckingham Palace's throne room. Released at the start of 2020, just days before Harry and Meghan announced their intention to resign as working royals, the picture ostensibly represented the monarchy's future, echoing many historical portraits.

However, it is claimed to have sparked discontent behind closed doors. In his book 'Meghan: A Hollywood Princess', Morton penned: "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."

Morton has claimed that Harry's fears were later confirmed when he cancelled a meeting with the Queen to discuss his Royal future. He stated: "This sense that, despite their international popularity, they were low down the Royal totem pole was confirmed when Harry arranged to meet the Queen for a grandson-to-grandmother chat in early January. At the last minute the meeting was postponed. Charles suspected classic internal politics, his family concerned that anything the Queen agreed during informal conversations would be used by Harry as a negotiating tactic."

In an interview with the Mirror's podcast Pod Save The King, Morton revealed that Harry and Meghan had started contemplating leaving The Firm much earlier than the public believed, with discussions beginning just six months after their wedding. Morton disclosed: "Harry was having conversations in a London hotel with Oprah Winfrey back in November 2018, just six months after they'd been married. So they were thinking about a different direction of travel pretty early on."

He added: "The irony is they had been given the keys to the first class lounge when Prince Harry was given the position of Youth Ambassador to William and Catherine. This was effectively the Queen's way of saying 'you do the rest of the world, leave Royal Family to do the UK where they will eventually be the Heads of State."

The couple made the announcement in January 2020 that they were stepping back from their Royal duties at Buckingham Palace. Their statement read: "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution."

"We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.

"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."

In response, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman stated that discussions with the couple were "at an early stage" and added: "We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through."