We should have expected nothing less.
The Queen stepping in to take immediate and drastic action to sort this mess out and to get it done without delay.
After ordering her heirs to round up their teams, the phones at Number 10 and government departments at home and across the Atlantic will be lighting up a Christmas tree.
Just 24 hours earlier, Buckingham Palace - who had been caught on the hoof with Harry and Meghan’s bombshell statement - insisted the situation was “complicated” and would “take time” to figure out.
Then suddenly yesterday afternoon palace sources revealed instructions from the very top were to “find solutions in days not weeks.”
A staggering turn of events, even if you consider this latest crisis to envelop the royal family could seriously threaten its actual survival.
In the palace the feeling of fury is palpable, the sadness felt by the Queen, heart rending.
Harry and Meghan have seemingly hoodwinked the monarch and strong-armed the rest of the family to get what they want - and for what reason?
Surely it would have been better to have everyone on board so they can help with what will undoubtedly be a tricky transition from full-time royal to part timer.
But the bottom line is there are no winners here.
The Sussexes seem even further ostracised from the family and, perhaps, the British public will start asking why they are paying for a couple who have neglected the very thing the Queen has placed above all else during her reign, duty.
It’s a gargantuan order to sort this out in a few days but Harry and Meghan have made their decision.
It remains to be seen whether they will make their peace before they leave.
