Prince Harry was reportedly “reluctant” to leave the royal family, but wasn’t given much choice by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after she issued a harsh ultimatum to him.

Hugo Vickers, a writer who’s a longtime friend of the royal family, recounts Prince Harry’s mounting frustrations with his family before his and his wife Meghan Markle’s resignations as royals in his new book, “Queen Elizabeth II.”

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fled London to Canada in 2019, Harry was “keen to discuss a way forward with the Queen” upon his return, Vickers writes. Though, things didn’t go as planned for the prince.

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Prince Harry, seen here leaving a court of appeal hearing in London in April 2025, was issued a harsh ultimatum by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, before he resigned as a royal in January 2020.Getty Images

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The Duke of Sussex (pictured above with Queen Elizabeth II at the 2019 wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston) wanted a “half-in, half-out arrangement, whereby he would be self-financing but could still work for the Royal Family,” according to royal writer Hugo Vickers’ new book, “Queen Elizabeth II.”Getty Images
“He wanted a half-in, half-out arrangement, whereby he would be self-financing but could still work for the Royal Family. In the new year of 2020, the three Private Secretaries, Sir Edward Young, Sir Clive Alderton and Simon Case, went into summit mode on the Sandringham estate and drafted their proposal,” Vickers writes.

“Prince Harry went to Sandringham for the meeting and was told it was either all in or all out. He returned to Canada — reluctantly out.”

In January 2020, the Sussexes announced they would be departing their official roles as working royals and moved to live in California full-time three months later, leaving their Frogmore Cottage home gifted to them by the Queen behind.

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“Prince Harry went to Sandringham for the meeting and was told it was either all in or all out. He returned to Canada — reluctantly out,” Vickers writes in his book. Queen Elizabeth is seen above at the 2015 state banquet at Schloss Bellevue palace.Getty Images

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Months later, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle (both pictured above sitting alongside the Queen at the 2018 Young Leader Awards) announced their resignation as royals and moved to the US full-time.Getty Images
After Prince Harry released his bombshell-loaded memoir, “Spare,” in 2023, he and Markle were requested to officially vacate the cottage.

Prior to Queen Elizabeth’s death, the couple made one last trip to London in June 2022 to bring their children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, to spend time with their great-grandmother to fulfill her final wishes.

As Page Six previously reported on Tuesday, royal biographer Robert Hardman shared Queen Elizabeth’s last wishes for all of her great-grandchildren in his forthcoming biography, “Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.”

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The couple (pictured with Queen Elizabeth in 2018) made one last trip to London before the Queen’s 2022 death to bring their children to spend time with their great-grandmother.Getty Images

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The last time the pair were spotted in London together with the rest of the royal family was to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022, as pictured above.Getty Images
“The Queen wanted all the great-grandchildren to come up to Balmoral at some point over that summer, even if the Sussexes might not be able to make it,” Hardman writes.

“She wanted to make sure that they all had a really happy memory of her,” a friend of the family claims in the book, per an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Monday.

The last time the Sussexes — who remain largely estranged from several members of the royal family, namely Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton — were publicly seen at Windsor was to mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.