The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2020 for their final engagement before quitting royal duties. But respected royal biographer Robert Lacey has claimed Harry was left "furious" by their treatment at the event.
Mr Lacey said while William and Kate took part in the procession with the Queen and other senior royals, Harry and Meghan were forced to "shuffle to their seats" like all the other attendees.
The couple were made to "take their places on the sidelines" alongside Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex.
Writing in the updated edition of his Battle of Brothers book, Mr Lacey said the Sussexes had been "punished" because they had been "so hustling and aggressive" with Megxit.
The pair were struck from the order of service, which the royal expert described as a "snub in black and white – plainly set out for all to see".
Mr Lacey added it would have "cost nothing" to include Harry and Meghan in the service for a final time as their "abrupt demotion was cruelly apparent".
He continued: "When Harry heard that he and Meghan had been so graphically shunted aside on this final appearance, he was furious.
"The subservience of a ‘spare’ – one of the basic reasons for this very sad parting of the ways – could not have been more strikingly illustrated."
The Sussexes sat in the second row behind the Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the service.
Tensions were apparent between the Sussexes - who are now living in California - and the royals.
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