When Meghan and Harry announced they would be stepping back as working royals it sent shockwaves across the nation with the news taking many by complete surprise.

Firm favourites amongst royal fans, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were naturals at their official engagements and the overseas tours they had undertaken as working royals had gone down incredibly well – making it all more shocking when the public learned what they said had been going on behind closed doors.

With the couple struggling in the spotlight, they decided to forge their own path across the Atlantic and start new lives in California. But it was only after a transitional year when their break with the monarchy became permanent that the couple divulged their side of the story in a bombshell sit down with Oprah Winfrey – something a royal expert has claimed occurred because of hostility perceived by Meghan and Harry from the other royals.

The claim was made by journalist and author Robert Jobson in his new book, Catherine, Princess of Wales: the Biography. The royal expert alleged that because Meghan felt that she had been met with coldness and hostility from the other royals, she “took no prisoners” when it was finally time to explain her side of the story in public. “Meghan took no prisoners and her onslaught against what she perceived was a hostile Royal Family was relentless,” the author claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex made a series of shocking claims during her sit-down with Oprah, including that there had been “concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he was born,” when she was pregnant with her first child. She also revealed that she had suffered from suicidal thoughts during her time as a working royal and that she had asked for help, but had been refused. “I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said I had never felt that way before and need to go somewhere, and I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” the Duchess said.

Prince Harry also opened up during the interview about how he felt “let down” by his father Charles as he had struggled to navigate the challenges of royal life with his young family. “I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie’s his grandson. But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.”