Prince George photo was a ‘wake up call’ for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—they wouldn't be the stars in the Royal Family

A sweet Prince George photo released back in 2020 was reportedly a major “wake-up call” for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle about their position in the Royal Family. 

• Just weeks before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as senior royals a new photo of those highest in the line of succession was released.  
• Prince George featured in this sweet snap and now it’s claimed it showed the Sussexes that they wouldn’t be the “superstars” of the Royal Family.  
• This royal news comes as the reason why the Queen is unlikely to attend her close friend's funeral is revealed.  

Every time a new Prince George photo is shared fans are delighted to see a new glimpse at the future king, from his highly-anticipated birthday portrait, to his appearance in the Cambridge family Christmas card 2021. At just eight years old, however, and despite being one of the Queen’s great-grandchildren, Prince George isn’t often photographed officially. Though perhaps one of the most memorable recent examples came in January 2020 when a special new picture was released.

Alongside him were Prince William, Prince Charles and the Queen, showing all those highest in the royal line of succession. The snap marked the start of a new decade and it was just weeks later that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “stepped back” as senior members of the Royal Family.

Now it’s been suggested that whilst the release of the Prince George photo didn’t directly inspire their decision, it could’ve been a “wake up call” of where they stood in The Firm going forwards.

As reported by The Mirror, royal commentator Neil Sean had taken to his YouTube channel to share his thoughts on how the photo showed “where the next phase” of the monarchy is.

He reportedly declared, “We have Prince Charles, Prince George, and of course Her Majesty the Queen. And this was going to be showing, alongside William, where the next phase is. Well, of course, if you look at the picture, it makes perfect sense. Obviously, that is the next line-up.”

Neil also expressed his belief that the Sussexes had already been considering what kind of life they wanted together before the photo was released. 

“Harry and Meghan had decided more or less within the first few months of meeting that they could have a different life,” he claimed. “It wasn’t exactly mapped out word for word, what we’ve ended up with, but certainly for Prince Harry, he wanted to have a different role in his life."

He continued, "We’d seen that already with him trying to branch out within the military, and of course, alongside Kate and William, he started those mental health charities.”

The royal commentator also went on to suggest that the Prince George photo could possibly have made the Sussexes realise they wouldn’t be the “superstars” of the Royal Family going forwards.

He stated, "I do believe that it could have been something of a wake-up call to realise that perhaps he and Meghan would never really truly be the superstars of the British monarchy. That’s not to say that they don’t garner as much or more interest than other senior members of the British monarchy, but sometimes it can be the wrong interest.”

This comes as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent their first Christmas as a family of four in the US. It’s not known when they might return and reunite with Prince George and the rest of the Royal Family, though fans will no doubt be hoping that the Sussexes attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations later this year.