Since symbolism is one of the Royal Family’s most important roles, over the years the institution has mastered the art of always making sure its optics are on point.

And when it comes to event planning, no one is better at making sure everything is presented perfectly for outside eyes.  

So when the Queen decided not to have a photo of Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle and their newborn son Archie in the background of her Christmas broadcast in 2019, experts knew it was anything but a simple oversight.

For millions around the world, the monarch’s 3pm speech is just as integral to Christmas Day as roast turkey, mince pies or exchanging presents.

Since it was televised for the first time in 1957, each one had been meticulously planned, including, of course, the curation of family photographs strategically placed on the desk at her side or on tables close at hand.

Their purpose, however, does not change – to indicate her thoughts on things which have special meaning, and 2019 was no exception. 

The subtext of the Sussexes evaporation was clear, with royal expert Tina Brown claiming their image had been ‘excised as skillfully as Stalin would have done to an apparatchik out of favour’.

Although a wedding photo of Prince Harry and Meghan had been in the Queen’s background the year before, in December 2019 only those in the direct line of succession made the cut. 

The Queen’s Christmas Speech in 2019 featured no image of Prince Harry, instead her photographs were of Charles and Camilla (1), Prince Philip (2), the Cambridges’ Christmas card picture (3), and her father George VI (4)

Prince Harry reportedly felt the removal of his family’s picture was a ‘turning point’ in his relationship with The Royal Family

Charles and Camilla appeared in a photo which marked the 50th anniversary of his investiture as Prince of Wales, and there was a group photo of Prince William’s family.

There was even a photograph of King George VI from 1944 as well as one of the Duke of Edinburgh from the Queen’s private collection – but no room for ‘the Spare’. 

Royal author Christopher Andersen wrote in his December 2021 book Brothers and Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, that the Queen herself had specifically asked for the Sussexes’ picture to be removed. 

He claimed a framed photo of them was initially on a desk alongside other family images.

But ahead of recording, she ordered the director of the broadcast to remove the photo, which featured Harry and Meghan holding their then seven-month-old son Archie.

A source told him the Queen ‘looked over the tables where the photographs she had so lovingly selected were arranged’ and pointed at the framed image of the Sussexes and said: ‘That one, I suppose we don’t need that one.’

And although the Sussex omission was later played off in the press as ‘perfectly logical’ as the Queen focused the selection to represent the idea of a ‘slimmed-down monarchy’ – those in the know knew it was a serious sign things were not well.

Mr Andersen, who said his book was based on ‘solid’ sources he has been cultivating ‘for decades’, later claimed in an interview the picture removal was a ‘turning point’ in Harry’s relationship with The Firm.

The Queen’s Christmas broadcast in 2019 was the penultimate one she ever made

Royal author Christopher Andersen wrote in his December 2021 book Brothers and Wives that the Queen herself had specifically asked for the Sussexes’ picture to be removed

At the 2018 Christmas Speech, Prince Harry and Meghan were visible in two framed photographs (circled)

At that time, relations between Harry and his family were already bad.

The Sussexes had been making rumblings about their unhappiness for a while, and after splitting their household from William’s in March 2019 they continued to express a desire to do things differently. 

In October, Meghan did a headline-grabbing interview with ITV in South Africa where she confessed things had ‘really been a struggle’. 

Behind the scenes, there were fraught negotiations about their wish for a new, autonomous place in royal life. 

But perhaps the move that wounded the Queen most was when they decided to spend Christmas in 2019  in Canada, rather than with the rest of the family at the traditional gathering at Sandringham.

However as Queen, Elizabeth II was bound by the long-lasting royal mantra of ‘never complain, never explain’ and therefore had no ability to speak on family matters to the public.

It seems the rearrangement of the family photographs that adorn her desk for the Christmas broadcast, was her way of communicating her displeasure in her grandson’s behaviour. 

The 2019 speech was one of the most high profile in years, as alongside Prince Harry’s public dissatisfaction with the Royal Family, The Firm was still reeling from Prince Andrew’s public shaming after his bombshell interview about Jeffrey Epstein.

Alongside Harry, the disgraced Andrew also never made the cut in that year’s photo display. 

Despite Harry and Meghan having Archie, their first child, born earlier that year, the Queen decided she did not want a picture of them behind her for her Christmas broadcast

Prince Harry and Meghan with their son Archie during a meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town, September 2019

The Queen’s son Prince Andrew also never featured in her background photos following his disastrous interview with the BBC about Jeffrey Epstein

After so many broadcasts the Queen, of course, is comfortably familiar in front of the camera, but that year commentators said it was her most ‘difficult and painful’ one.

As well as her family, the Queen also had to acknowledge it had been a turbulent time for Britain, as there had been a general election earlier that month where old Brexit wounds were reopened yet again. 

Filmed in the Music Room at Windsor Castle, it was one of the more theatrically staged of her seasonal broadcasts with a tastefully opulent background of gilded mirrors, oil paintings candelabras and a twinkling, perfectly proportioned Christmas tree with light and golden baubles. 

She said: ‘Small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding. 

‘The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.’

The comments were her first public reference to the turmoil faced by her family that year.

As author Robert Lacey noted in his best-selling book Battle of Brothers: ‘There would be no sign of Harry and Meghan in 2019, nor any mention of the name Sussex – since that name was, apparently, now to be used to sell merchandise for which permission had not been asked from the Queen.

The Sussexes had been making rumblings about their unhappiness for a while. Pictured: Meghan’s headline-grabbing interview with ITV in South Africa in October 2019 where she said things had ‘really been a struggle’

Robert Lacey (left) in his 2020 book Battle Of Brothers: William, Harry And The Inside Story Of A Family In Tumult (right), told the story of the Queen’s Christmas broadcast in 2019

As Lacey pointed out, The Queen acknowledged the arrival of Harry and Meghan’s first child, but avoided the word Sussex, preferring to say that, ‘Prince Philip and I have been delighted to welcome our eighth great-grandchild into our family.’

The Sussexes, wrote Lacey, ‘had been ‘non-personed as effectively as the Soviets non-personed Trotsky and Khrushchev’.

So how did Harry feel when he sat down to watch the speech from Canada early on Christmas morning to see he had been snuffed out? Not good, apparently.

According to the book Finding Freedom, which was written by Sussex-friendly authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the snub made him feel as though it was ‘yet another sign that they needed to consider their own path’.

Mr Andersen wrote in his book that even Prince William was ‘shocked’ when he realised the photo had been removed, allegedly telling his wife that Harry would be devastated by the gesture. 

The author told Today in 2021: ‘Harry did feel as if he was being, according to a friend of his, erased slowly from the family. That was quite the signal that the Queen was sending.’

In a separate interview with US Weekly, Mr Andersen said: ‘It seems very subtle, but when you think about it, when somebody cuts you out of the family album, so to speak, it’s a pretty strong message.’

Royal expert Tina Brown wrote in her book: ‘William was said to have been appalled when he saw the Sussexes had been edited out. He knew his brother well enough to predict a Category Five tantrum brewing’ 

The ex-editor of Tatler and Vanity Fair, Tina Brown, who had lunch with Princess Diana weeks before her death, also believes the Christmas photo snub was the final nail in the coffin for Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan at Canada House on January 7, 2020. The following day they released a bombshell statement announcing their intention Megxit

The ex-editor of Tatler and Vanity Fair, Tina Brown, who had lunch with Princess Diana weeks before her death, also believes the Christmas photo snub was the final nail in the coffin for Prince Harry.

She wrote in 2022: ‘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 author continued: ‘William was said to have been appalled when he saw the Sussexes had been edited out. He knew his brother well enough to predict a Category Five tantrum brewing.’ 

And sure enough, it looks like Prince Harry did indeed have a tantrum. 

In early January, he and Meghan returned to the UK from Canada where they had spent Christmas – but left their infant son and two dogs behind. 

After the Sussexes announced their Megxit statement, the Queen summoned Harry and her heirs, Charles and William, for a round table discussion to the future of the monarchy at Sandringham (pictured) on January 13.

The summit grabbed headlines from all across the world, with reporters pictured camping outside the estate. Although to those paying attention, the decision had seemingly already been made by the Queen weeks prior

Perhaps it was a sign their mind had already been made up, as the following day they released a bombshell statement announcing their intention to relinquish their senior position within the Firm and carve out a progressive new role for themselves.

Their bold move forced the Queen to summon him and her heirs, Charles and William, for a round table discussion to discuss the future of the monarchy on January 13.

As the eyes of the world turned on the event, it was grandly dubbed ‘The Sandringham Summit’ by the press, as a slew of media vans and satellite dishes descended on the area to cover the monumental moment. 

It was there that it was officially announced Harry and Meghan would be stepping down.

But to those paying attention, the decision had seemingly already been made by the Queen weeks prior, visible to anyone who picked up on the clue she left at the Christmas broadcast.