The Queen was unfairly excluded from the Time Magazine's annual 100 Influential People, according to one royal expert, after her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle secured a slot on the list. The Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden said the snub raised the question over "how seriously" one should take the list. Speaking to Palace Confidential, Mr Eden cast doubt on whether Meghan and Harry "deserved the huge honour" of being included.

       Mr Eden said: "How can we take these lists seriously though?

       "If it's about genuine influence, then look at the Queen who has advised so many prime ministers over the years.

       "She’s head of state for so many countries - surely she should be on the list.”

       Host Jo Elvin: “On the other hand, they genuinely are the most talked-about people on the planet right now. Whether that is good or bad, I don't know."

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       Mr Eden added: "The question is whether they deserve this huge honour.

       "Back in this country, I'm not sure they have a lot of influence.

       "Over the past year, you could argue that they’ve been a very bad influence: in terms of how you react to your family, how you behave towards traditions.’

       "They have tried to overthrow everything, really."

       However, The Mail on Sunday’s diarist Charlotte Griffiths disagreed, saying: "They are written about and talked about a lot, so I say they deserve to be on there."

       The couple, who now live in California, made the Time 100 list for their charity work with their Archewell Foundation.

       Chef José Andrés, who is a close friend of the pair, nominated the couple.

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       In an essay for the magazine, he wrote: “They turn compassion into boots on the ground through their Archewell Foundation. They give voice to the voiceless through media production.

       “Hand-in-hand with non-profit partners, they take risks to help communities in need – offering mental-health support to black women and girls in the US and feeding those affected by natural disasters in India and the Caribbean."

       The couple wrote on their Archewell foundation website that they were “humbled” to be part of Time’s annual top 100 list.

       Archewell is expected to focus on the issues the couple have been championing during the pandemic including racial justice, gender equality, climate change, mental health, online hate speech and empowering diverse voices.