King Charles ‘carefully' plans strategic move to send Prince Harry a harsh message

King Charles carefully planned a ‘strategic’ move to send a harsh message to his rebellious son, Prince Harry, by releasing a family portrait.

In December 2019, a photo was released by the Buckingham Palace featuring Queen Elizabeth, King Charles, Prince William, and Prince George, which did not sit well with the Duke of Sussex.

According to a royal expert and author, the monarch deliberately released the photograph in order to send a message to Harry and Meghan Markle regarding his future plans for the monarchy.

In his book Battle of Brothers, royal author Robert Lacey claimed that the photo, which shows the three future kings, was Charles's idea to promote a "slimmed-down monarchy," as per The Mirror.

He noted that Charles also intended to tell Harry and Meghan that they have no place in the royal family as he excluded the Duke and his son, Prince Archie, from the photo.

"What a fascinating and historic image to remind us of the essence of the royal system! The current monarch with three future monarchs. All the living heirs — and not a suggestion of a 'spare,’” he penned.

"According to insiders, this formal photograph, taken in the Buckingham Palace Throne Room a week before Christmas 2019, was the idea of Prince Charles, anxious to promote his cause of the 'slimmed-down monarchy,’” he added.

"Palace sources have also let it be known that the plan of depicting the direct line of royal succession was enthusiastically supported by Prince William, which might be seen as sending his younger brother a message."

Before concluding, the expert revealed the reaction of Harry and Meghan over the photo, claiming that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took the photo "to heart" and were upset by it.