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Was the Queen dropping hints about Harry and Meghan's departure in her Christmas Day speech?

Thursday, 9 January 2020

Royal fans say Queen Elizabeth II left clues in her Christmas Day speech about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's plans to step down as senior royals.

This year, royal fans noticed Prince Harry and Meghan had been left out of the line-up of family photos, despite snaps of them appearing in 2018, when the Queen included a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day.

This year, royal fans noticed Prince Harry and Meghan had been left out of the line-up of family photos, despite snaps of them appearing in 2018, when the Queen included a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day.
This year, royal fans noticed Prince Harry and Meghan had been left out of the line-up of family photos, despite snaps of them appearing in 2018, when the Queen included a photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day.

Their image was nowhere to be seen this year, nor were there any photos of their son, Archie.

**READ MORE:

​* The Queen's Christmas address features royal angst over tumult-filled year

* Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry open up about their visit to Canada

* Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are skipping Queen Elizabeth's pre-Christmas party

* Inside Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Thanksgiving with 'close family'**

​Instead there were snaps of her father, King George VI, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as a family shot of the Cambridges.

Royal followers took to social media, claiming the Queen intentionally left out the couple as a clue they wanted to step down as senior royals.

The couple plan to divide their time between the UK and North America, with Canada expected to be their base there. 

'The clue was there on Christmas Day. The Queen didn't have a photo of them on the table. In plain sight. Classic Queen,' Roberto Kusabbi wrote on Twitter. 

Will Pitman agreed, writing on Twitter: 'The Queen TRIED to tell you about Harry and Meghan stepping back at Christmas. No photo of them during her speech. The clues were right there.'

During her Christmas broadcast, Elizabeth declared herself 'delighted to welcome' the couple's 7-month-old boy, Archie, but she also admitted to difficulties during the course of the year.

Talking about the need for reconciliation and forgiveness, Elizabeth said: '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 core members of the royal family gathered for Christmas, as they do every year, at Sandringham, however, Prince Harry and Meghan took a step back from tradition to spend the holiday in Canada with Meghan's mother, Los Angeles-born Doria Ragland.