According to Morton, a photo of Prince George released in January 2020 was a turning point. It reportedly confirmed Harry and Meghan’s decision to leave royal life behind.

The photo, taken in Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room, featured Queen Elizabeth II alongside three future kings: Prince Charles (now King Charles III), Prince William, and young Prince George, who was only seven years old at the time.

“To mark the start of a new decade, a portrait has been released of Her Majesty The Queen and Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, and Prince George. The portrait was taken by Ranald Mackechnie in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace,” the caption read on the royal family’s official Instagram page.

While the image was in line with traditional royal portraits — highlighting the monarchy’s future — Morton claimed it further widened the gap between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royals.

He wrote that the couple felt increasingly isolated, believing the system was against them. “They saw signs everywhere,” he said. “The message was clear: the monarchy would go on — with or without Meghan and Harry.”

Morton reiterated this in The Mirror’s Pod Save The King podcast, suggesting that plans for the couple’s move to the U.S. may have started much earlier than most people assumed.

According to claims, “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.”

Despite ongoing speculation about Harry and Meghan’s future, Harry recently expressed a desire to mend ties with his family while addressing his legal defeat against the BBC.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he admitted.

“Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”