He has been one of the royal couple’s most high profile critics, and quickly took to Twitter to say he ‘saw this coming’.

The Good Morning Britain presenter wrote: ‘People say I’m too critical of Meghan Markle – but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William & has now split him from the Royal Family.

‘I rest my case.’

He then posted ‘What Meghan wants.. Meghan gets’ – a reference to a line Harry is alleged to have told aides during preparations for the royal wedding.

After news broke that the couple had allegedly not consulted with other members of the family before issuing their statement, he added: ‘Wow. What a disgraceful way to treat The Queen. Shame on Harry & Meghan.’

Harry and Megan said in a statement this evening that they would ‘step back as “senior” members of the royal family.

They said: ‘After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.

‘We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen.

‘It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.

‘We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.

‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.’

Afterwards, Buckingham Palace warned that their decision to ‘step back’ from the royal family will be ‘complicated’ and said talks are still at an early stage.

It is understood that the Queen and the Prince of Wales were not aware of the content of the statement before it was issued.