The Queen knew the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would not return to royal life as soon as she learned they had left with their dogs in tow, it has been revealed.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned the world when they quit their royal duties in 2020, revealing they were starting a new life overseas.
Some around the corridors of Buckingham Palace expected them to one day return to the fold, but the Queen knew differently.
According to a new biography of the monarch by Robert Hardman, serialised on MailOnline, the Queen told a visitor she did not expect them to resume royal life.
When asked about a future return for the couple, she replied: “Of course not. They took the dogs.”
Meghan loves animals and was heartbroken when she had to leave her Labrador-Shepherd mix dog Bogart behind when she moved to the UK, because of his age.
Sources suggested Bogart did not join them in their new Los Angeles home as he “ did not get on with Harry ”.
The Sussexes currently have two dogs- a beagle named Guy and a black Labrador called Pula - who Meghan used to dress in Union Flag colours.
Pula is the currency of Botswana, the African country which became a “refuge” for the prince following the death of Princess Diana.
Botswana is also where the couple spent five nights camping together when they were first dating.
Meghan, a promoter of adopting rescue dogs, chose animal welfare charity Mayhew as one of her first patronages.
She has previously said the pair of rescue dogs "mean the absolute world" to her and has referred to them as "my loves" and "my boys".
Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres first convinced Meghan to adopt Bogart when she bumped into her in a shelter.
Prince Harry’s love of dogs runs in the family, with his grandmother best known for her love of corgis.
Harry revealed in 2017 the corgis took to his then new partner “straight away”.
He said: “I've spent the last 33 years being barked at; this one walks in, absolutely nothing.”
The Queen has owned more than 30 corgis, many of them direct descendants of her first one, Susan - given to her as an 18th birthday present by her parents in 1944.
Susan was so loved that she accompanied the then Princess Elizabeth on her honeymoon.
