From a blind date to a war with the tabloids, a timeline of the events leading to Harry and Meghan stepping down.
Video / AP / ET
Prince William and Prince Harry may have put up a united front earlier this week, but it appears their relationship hit an all-time low after a series of rifts late last year.
According to Dan Wootton, the Kiwi journalist who broke the Megxit story, the once-close siblings' relations became "tense and damaged" following raft of furious rows in 2019.
Wootton claims the brothers' bond fell apart just before the two families appeared together for baby Archie's first public appearance, as well as an outing at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day in July.
Since then, William has reportedly accused Harry of behaving rudely to staff and claims he has "changed" as a person.
"It's absolutely heartbreaking to see just how damaged William and Harry's relationship has become," a senior royal source told The Sun.
"They'll always love each other as brothers, but right now things have never been so bad. William feels betrayed and let down by Harry."
The brothers had not be seen together for months before putting on a united front following the bombshell claims William had driven a division between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the family.
"Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge," the pair said in a joint statement.
"For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful."
Despite this, a source told the Times: "If you are Meghan and Harry and you've had two years of constantly being told your place, constantly bullied as they would see it, constantly being told what you can't do, Meghan has been thinking, 'This is just nuts. Why would anyone put up with this?'."
This week, the Queen reluctantly gave Prince Harry and Meghan Markle her blessing to step back from royal life. Photo / Getty
RIVAL PALACES STIRRING RUMOURS
Wootton also claims the Sussexes' courtiers at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House are stirring up trouble, attempting to portray them as "difficult", and has ruined any trust the pair had with staff.
"They have not been able to trust people working within Buckingham Palace or Clarence House for some time," a source close to Harry and Meghan told the Sun.
"The old conservative brigade has been out to get them for some time and they're well aware of that."
Harry's relationship with his father Prince Charles has also reportedly turned toxic.
The King Power Royal Charity Polo Day was baby Archie's first public appearance in July last year. Photo / Getty
MEGHAN BARRED FROM EMERGENCY TALKS WITH QUEEN
Meghan was barred from calling into crisis talks at Sandringham.
The urgent meeting was called to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan's plans to step back as "senior" royals and move to Canada.
Meghan, who is currently in Vancouver with Archie, was expected to participate in the meeting via Skype, but that plan was shut down by palace officials.
"This was a highly confidential family discussion, not a conference call," a source told the Daily Mail.
Given the sensitivity of the topic being discussed, a Skype call was deemed too risky as it could not be confirmed if anyone else might be listening in.
"While the Queen has no objection in principle to Skype or conference calls, for clarity's sake it is more likely that Harry will break off from the negotiations to call the Duchess," an aide told the Daily Mail just before the meeting began.
It was revealed after the historic meeting that Harry and Meghan had rejected the Queen's wish to stay as fulltime royals — and are now set to seal their exit within days.
