Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s final royal appearance marked one of the main events in the annual royal schedule.

After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step down from royal duties in 2020, the pair were still tied to completing a number of key royal events before they officially departed for Canada.

During their final appearance at a ceremony to mark Commonwealth Day, the couple were reportedly “tense” and Prince Harry appeared to be “fighting back tears”.

At the four year anniversary of the Westminster Abbey appearance, analysis of the Prince’s statements since the event has provided new insight into the effect of the royal ‘snub’.

The experience appears to have continued to haunt the Duke of Sussex as he described feeling “distant” from other members of the Royal Family during the couple’s Netflix series, released in 2022.

Royal expert Robert Lacey wrote in his 2020 book Battle of Brothers that Meghan held her “best TV smile” throughout the ceremony, but Prince Harry appeared altogether more “tense and unsmiling”.

Lacey reported: “As the ceremony progressed, Harry appeared to grow gloomier.”

According to one observer, ‘his accelerated blinking even suggested he might have been fighting tears’.