The biggest bombshells from new royal book and how its left Harry and Meghan more isolated

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may become even more isolated from the Royal Family following the publication of Robert Hardman’s new royal biography.

In June 2021, when the couple announced their newborn daughter would be named Lilibet, eyebrows were raised over this apparent tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth.

According to Mr Hardman the reveal sparked outrage amongst the Firm, especially during the final months of the Queen’s life, which are further explored by the author.

The book also dives deep into the relationship between King Charles and Queen Camilla and how they really interact with each other behind the scenes.

Here Express.co.uk takes a look at the seven biggest bombshells from the royal biography of the year, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex face an uncertain 2024.

The late Queen was reportedly outraged after hearing that Harry and Meghan had named their daughter Lilibet, her pet name which only her closest friends and family were allowed to use.

According to Mr Hardman, one staff member said the Queen was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” after the news broke, despite the Sussexes saying they would not have chosen the name had she not been “supportive”.

It was reported by the BBC at the time that, contrary to what the couple said, the Queen was not asked for her blessing, while other sources said she had been asked by her grandson but did not feel she could say no.

In the last year of her life Her Late Majesty was suffering from “multiple medical conditions” and came to understand that she would not be like her mother, the Queen Mother, who died in 2002 aged 101.

A friend of hers said in the book: “She had come to realise that the medical prognosis meant she was not going to emulate her mother and reach 100, so she had been determined to make the most of that (final) year.

“She made sure she had all the family up over the summer [at Balmoral] so that the young ones in particular would always be left with happy memories of her.”

Queen Elizabeth passed away at Balmoral on September 8 2022 aged 96, and in Robert Hardman’s book the details of her final moments are revealed.

Her private secretary Sir Edward Young wrote in a memo about the moment of her death: “Very peaceful. In her sleep. Slipped away. Old age. She wouldn’t have been aware of anything. No pain.”

The Queen was able to enjoy some final weeks of peace and relaxation with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren before her death in her favourite place.

For some months before Queen Elizabeth died she became increasingly frail, leading some aides to discuss whether a Regency period would be “almost inevitable”.

If that had been the case the Queen would have remained monarch, with then-Prince Charles taking her place as a representative if she was incapacitated.

A palace aide stated that Charles was “extremely reluctant” to look into it, with one saying: “He didn’t want to dwell on the details… I think he felt that if you reach out for something, you are tempting fate.”

Queen Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot explained in the book that although the two might be a perfect match for each other in many ways, they have rather different personalities.

For example they often bicker over a very relatable problem, as the King likes a cold breeze running through the house while Camilla prefers it warmer.

Her sister elaborated: “There’s a constant battle about it. He will have opened it. She [Camilla] will creep in behind and shut it. So there’s a lot of: ‘Oh, darling, you shut the window.’ ‘Yes, I have, because we’re all freezing.’ So a lot of banter goes on.”

When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his family were hosted at Balmoral by the King and Queen, the PM feared he had taken things too far in an interaction with Camilla.

Fortunately it was a rather positive experience for all involved, as Sunak said she made him laugh so much that he found it “hard during the dinner to try and keep the volume down because we were having such a good time”.

Queen Camilla has often been hailed for her sense of humour, with even her non-nonsense sister-in-law Princess Anne bestowing praise upon her.

King Charles may not have been too taken with it, but luckily Queen Camilla saw the funny side of the pet name which her friends came up with for her.

Mr Hardman said that people close to the couple called her ‘Lorraine’, inspired by the French word for Queen, la Reine, which after many years with Charles she eventually became.

Her sense of humour often comes in handy when the King is in a bad mood, as she is said to be the only person who knows how to calm him down.