Prince Philip seemed to make his feeling about Harry and Meghan’s exit clear

Prince Philip made a telling move that seemed to send a clear message to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following their decision to quit royal life.

The Sussexes announced they were stepping down on 8 January 2020. It led to an unprecedented meeting of the royal family on 13 January, dubbed the “Sandringham Summit”. Prince Harry attended alone, holding talks with his grandmother, the late Queen, his father Charles and older brother Prince William. The meeting was held in the Queen’s private apartments on the first floor, the dining room and, nearby, the Long Library.

Harry arrived in good time for lunch. The Queen and then-Prince Charles were already at Sandringham – he had flown in from Oman by private jet on Sunday night after paying his respects on the death of the Arab state’s leader, Sultan Qaboos. William was the last to arrive, driving from his home at nearby Anmer in a black Land Rover Defender. Tellingly, he made a last-minute entrance at 1.45pm – the meeting was set for 2pm.

Notably absent from the meeting was the patriarch of the family, Prince Philip. He had quietly left the house before Harry’s arrival, driven away in his Land Rover Freelander by Countess Mountbatten, who helped care for him. According to the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay at the time: “Just how strategic this departure was, was not immediately clear. But the fact he left more than an hour and a half before the Duke of Sussex arrived was seen as significant. At 98, he no longer lays down the law as he once did and some courtiers wonder if this was his way of saying ‘this is not my fight’.

“It may also be that by making himself absent he could not be drawn into a situation where the mantra which governed his attitude to royal life – ‘you are either in the family or out’ – was being tested by Harry and Meghan’s wish to be part-time royals.” The meeting prompted the Queen to release an extraordinary statement regarding Harry and Meghan’s future. The highly-personal message read: “Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family. My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family.

“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family. Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.” She concluded: “These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”