01 January 2023 , 08:16
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It's almost three years to the day that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world.
They announced they would be quitting their royal duties and leaving the UK for a new life in America.
It came following weeks of speculation they were unhappy with palace life and it has been claimed a photo released to mark 2020 was the 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.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations (Getty Images)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."
The photo was issued at the start of 2020 of the Queen and her three heirs (Ranald Mackechnie via Getty Images)Just days after the photo was released, Meghan and Harry shocked the world by sharing a status on social media saying they were stepping back from their senior roles.
Saying they had spent "many months" reflecting over the decision, they explained they planned to "carve out a progressive new role within [the] institution" while becoming financially independent.
They've since moved to California with their son Archie, where they have set up a new life and also welcomed a daughter Lilibet.
Meanwhile in their bombshell Netflix documentary released earlier this month, Harry alleged William screamed and shouted at him during a tense Sandringham summit and Kensington Palace “lied to protect my brother” when it issued a statement denying a story William had bullied him out of the royal family.
In a raft of other bombshell allegations against his family, Harry accused his father, now the King, of saying untrue things when the Queen gathered them together at Sandringham in January 2020 in a bid to solve the Megxit crisis.
Harry also claimed his brother’s office, Kensington Palace, traded negative stories just like his father’s had in the past, saying it was “heartbreaking” to see something he and William promised they would “never ever do” taking place.