A celebrated royal expert has broken ranks and declared that the Duchess of Sussex will “inevitably” ditch her husband Prince Harry.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s extensive 2022 interview with The Cut is really the gift that keeps on giving, the lengthy sit-down a cornucopia of handy, loaded lines a royal writer can repurpose.

Lines like the bit where she somewhat portentously said, “the silent part is still part of the song”.

Well, the “silent part” is playing on the highest of high volumes right now when it comes to her and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex’s marriage.

After staking their brand, their image, their businesses and their public identity on them as a unit, their relationship has gone shockingly quiet, if not been put on total mute.

Now, someone connected to the highest echelons of royalty has said “the silent part” out loud.

Hugo Vickers is not only an authorised royal biographer but a man whose pedigree and access to royal circles is unparalleled – and he has now come out and offered an extraordinarily blunt assessment of the Sussexes’ marriage.

Quite simply, he alleges that Meghan will inevitably “chop” Harry.

Am I the only one wincing? Because that sounds akin to an emotional Lorena Bobbitting.

The thing to know here is that Vickers is not just some moderately well-educated bloke who went to Eton and occasionally takes his port with a minor duke at his club. His credentials and CV are unmatched – he’s the author of what is seen as the definitive biography of the Queen Mother, a book he spent 17 years researching, most recently he helped the still working senior royal the Duke of Kent pen his memoirs, and the Financial Times has called him “the most knowledgeable royal biographer on the planet”.