This Is the Moment it All ‘Went Wrong’ With Prince Harry and Meghan Before They Stepped Down, According to Palace Insiders

A royal photographer and former royal assistant are revealing when they saw everything change with the Sussexes before the couple stepped down.

Many royal fans remember the day Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace after it was announced that they were engaged. On that November day, the two embraced and were all smiles for the many cameras gathered.

Six months later, the couple said “I do” in a ceremony with over 600 guests, including many A-list celebrities, at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Shots of the bride, groom, and other members of the royal family beaming were seen all around the world, which is why no one could have predicted back then how things would turn out.

Within two years, the duke and duchess quit their roles as working royals and moved to Meghan’s home state on the other side of the pond. Today, Harry’s relationship with Prince William is non-existent, and he’s been estranged from other members of his family as well. That has to do with the Sussexes’ decision to air out the royals’ dirty laundry publicly to the highest bidder. And some are still asking: “Where did it all go wrong?”

Well, a former Palace staffer is pinpointing the moment when they realized things were starting to go off the rails and a big shakeup was on the horizon.

Former aide says things started to go south when the Sussexes didn’t do what other royals did

Paul Burrell began working in the royal household when he was 18 years old and served as the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s personal footman. In 1987, he was moved to the household of then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana. When they separated, Burrell served as Diana’s butler and looked after her and her sons until the princess’s tragic death.

Speaking in the documentary Harry & Meghan: The Rise and Fall, Burrell said he started to see things turn when Harry and his wife refused to share photos of the first-born child with the world the way other high-profile royals like his parents and brother had.

The former butler explained that it was then he wondered: “Why didn’t they want to show the world their joy? They’re retreating, they’re pulling back. That’s when I thought it was going wrong.”

Royal photographer Zak Hussein agreed, adding: “The public really loves these pictures of the royals standing on the steps with a newborn baby, it’s kind of a tradition. So, to not have that I guess kind of ruffled some feathers. But, on the flip side, it’s understandable that people want privacy around the birth of their child. It was a sign that the way things might go with them that they won’t go along that traditional way and they were definitely going to do things their way.”

Meghan and Harry broke another tradition with Archie and did things ‘their way’

Two months after Archie was born, his baptism took place but that was another affair that the Sussexes made private.

The press was not permitted on the grounds to take any photos of their son or the family going in and out of the church. While all royal christenings are private ceremonies, the media is usually able to cover who is arriving just like with the baptisms of Prince William’s children.

As royal reporter Roya Nikkah wrote in the Sunday Times: “The move is in contrast to the decision by [Prince William and Kate] to let cameras capture their children at their christenings, together with the arrivals of family members and godparents, before holding private services.”

A picture from that day was later shared with the public via the royal family’s social media account. Information accompanying the family portrait noted: “This official photograph was taken in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.” It also listed who attended the christening including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, the late Princess Diana‘s sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and a few senior royals.