Prince William 'shocked and saddened' by Meghan and Harry's 'insulting' behaviour towards Queen

Prince William is reportedly furious at how his younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle treated their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after the one-year review of their exit as senior British royals.

During the review, Harry and Meghan were stripped of their remaining royal patronages while the Queen suggested a "life of public service" is not compatible with the couple's lucrative new career in America, which includes multi-million deals with Netflix and Spotify. The couple quickly responded to the monarch's announcement, arguing that "service is universal," which hasn't gone down well with Prince William and other members of the British royal family.

Sources told the Sunday Times that the Duke of Cambridge has been "shocked and saddened" by the Sussexes' statement which he finds "petulant and insulting to the Queen. An insider said that the future king is "really sad and genuinely shocked" and is "very upset by what has happened."

Another source said: "Once [William] he got over the anger of how things happened, he was left with the absence of his brother. They had shared everything about their lives — an office, a foundation, meetings together most days — and there was a lot of fun along the way. He'll miss it forever."

However, a friend of the Sussexes insists that they did not intend to insult the Queen with their "service is universal" comment. Dean Stott, who has been friends with Harry for 12 years since they served in the army together, told Radio 4's "Today" programme that the line should be "taken in context" of his and Meghan's charity work as financially-independent royals.

He said that the couple, who are currently expecting their second child, will now be able to pursue their "love for philanthropy" without the "protocol and red tape" that comes with being a working royal. Therefore, "service is universal" should be taken in the context of their work with charities rather than a dig at the palace.

The recent developments in Harry and Meghan's non-royal lives come soon after they announced a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. It recently emerged that the 90-minute interview was recorded last Tuesday, just days before the review of their exit, but the Queen wasn't informed about it beforehand.

The 94-year-old was reportedly "blindsided" last week after she learned about the interview when a producer working for Winfrey accidentally revealed it to ITV. It is being alleged that the couple wanted to keep the talk show secret until their Megxit deal with the monarchy was settled.