Prince William 'appalled' by Queen's Christmas snub of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle

Prince William was said to have been left upset when Queen Elizabeth II did not put a portrait of Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Archie on her desk for her 2019 Christmas broadcast.

It is customary for the British monarch to record her message to the British public every Christmas. It was during the address in 2019 that she allegedly purposely did not set out a family portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on her desk which was clear to those who saw the video.

Its notable absence had a reason, according to royal biographer Tina Brown. It was during this time that the couple spent Christmas in Canada. Queen Elizabeth II had reportedly seen no need to include their photo as she pointed out to one of her staff while they prepared for the recording.

"The previous Christmas, a family portrait of Charles, Camilla, the five Cambridges, and Harry and Meghan was exhibited at Her Majesty's elbow. But in December 2019, the Sussexes had evaporated, their image excised as skilfully as Stalin would have done to an apparatchik out of favour," Brown wrote in her new book, "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor--the Truth and the Turmoil," as quoted by Newsweek.

She added, "Her Majesty pointed at a winsome portrait of Harry, Meghan, and baby Archie. 'That one,' said the Queen. 'I suppose we don't need that one.'"

The royal biographer explained, "If the Sussexes had any residual misgivings about whether they wanted out, those doubts vanished when they viewed the queen's 2019 televised Christmas message. With their own eyes, they saw that they had been kicked to the margins of the Monarchy. Her Majesty eloquently made the point in her speech by saying nothing. The subtext was all in the flotilla of carefully arranged family photographs positioned on her writing desk."

Brown shared that Prince William "was said to have been appalled when he saw the Sussexes had been edited out." The duke feared for the worst outcome because he knew Prince Harry "well enough to predict a Category 5 tantrum brewing." That decision from Queen Elizabeth II was said to have given the Sussexes a clear message that it is time they step back from their royal duties and in January 2020, Megxit happened.