Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's tribute to Prince Philip for his funeral broke protocol and went against the late royal's wishes, a royal author has claimed. The late Duke of Edinburgh passed away on April 9, 2021, aged 99 and his funeral took place on April 17, at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Members of the Royal Family each sent wreaths to honour Queen Elizabeth's husband and his life, and while Meghan did not attend the service, her and Prince Harry's tribute also included a handwritten note from her. The Sussexes's wreath featured bear's breeches to honour Philip's birthplace, sea holly to honour his history with the Navy and roses for his birthday - It was also accompanied by a press release in contrast to the other family tributes - which had none. And author Robert Lacey claimed this was against the late duke's wishes for his funeral.

Mr Lacey even commented on the Sussexes' flower arranger, florist Willow Crossley, who also made the flower arrangements for their wedding in 2018 and Prince Archie's christening in 2019.

He said: "Even Meghan's flower arranger had her own PR agency! Social media could hardly believe it."

The late duke reportedly wanted "no fuss" for his funeral which is what he got - excluding the Sussexes's extravagant tribute.

Philip's funeral was attended by just 30 guests due to Covid restrictions, however, the media storm caused by the Sussexes's wreathe would likely not have gone down well with the royal, the outlet added.

Mr Lacey, who was also a historical consultant to the Netflix series The Crown, told the outlet of the Sussexes's press release during Philip's wedding: "The Dean of Windsor was just addressing the final commendation to the congregation in the chapel when journalists' phones started to ping.

"Just before the end of the funeral service it was another tweet from Omid Scobie passing on Harper's Bazaar's report on the "sentimental tribute" from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex."

The author added: "The Sussexes' wreath could be seen leaning among the other eight simple white and green family tributes in St George's Chapel propped against the stalls on either side of the Duke's coffin. It had already attracted some attention on account of its unconventional and rather autumnal pink-ish brown flowers."

Meghan Markle did not attend the service as she was given medical advice not to travel due to being six months pregnant with Princess Lilibet.

According to the outlet, the only other tribute that attracted media attention at the time was the late Queen's which also included a handwritten note.