Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have always spoken of their admiration and affection for the late Queen, but it appears that all was not as it seemed.

Prince Harry and Meghan

Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties in 2020 (Image: GETTY)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared to brutally “snub” the late Queen Elizabeth II prior to her death on this day in 2022.

According to expert Robert Lacey, Meghan and Harry refused two separate invitations from the late monarch to spend time with the Royal Family in 2019.

The late monarch reportedly invited the couple and their then-newborn son Archie to spend some of the summer holiday with her at Balmoral. The second invitation came when the late Queen wanted Harry, Meghan and Archie – now aged five – to spend Christmas at Sandringham. The family, instead, opted to spend six weeks in Canada instead.

As per the Mirror, Mr Lacey previously said: “To compound it, as the Christmas holidays approached Harry and Meghan snubbed the Queen for a second time. They had not gone to stay at Balmoral with her in the summer, and they decided that they couldn’t join her at Sandringham for the New Year break either.”

The pair, who are now also parents to three-year-old Lilibet, announced that they were stepping down as senior working royals in 2020. The couple now reside in California with Archie and Lilibet.