The Duchess of Cambridge's 38th birthday was completely eclipsed today after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit as senior royals having defied the Queen's plea to delay announcing their 'nuclear' plans.
Courtiers have warned that 'Harry and Meghan will be punished' for ignoring crystal-clear orders from Her Majesty not to go public until the proposal was finalised by senior family members including his father.
Prince Charles and Prince William were both said to be left 'incandescent with rage' after learning about the Sussexes' announcement just 10 minutes before it was published on the couple's own Instagram page - followed by the roll-out of a slick new website secretly set up 10 months ago.
The fallout saw crisis talks held today between senior royals at Kensington Palace, where members of the family had already gathered to celebrate the Duchess of Cambridge's 38th birthday, with their decision branded a 'declaration of war' on Harry's family.
Aides speaking to the have now warned of a backlash against Harry, who it was revealed today had first contacted his father before Christmas to discuss his hopes of spending more time in North America.
Prince Harry even sent a draft proposal of his plans to his father in the New Year, but he was told more time was needed to talk through the complex implications, notably around finances. 
Harry later requested a meeting with the Queen at Sandringham upon his arrival back in the UK this weekend with Meghan and their son [url=/news/archie-harrison-mountbatten-windsor/index.html]Archie, which followed a six-week Christmas break to Canada.
The Queen offered to meet the Duke - which was blocked by courtiers - but she still made an explicit request to her grandson that he first discuss his future plans in detail with his father, the Prince of Wales. 





Princess Eugenie was also seen arriving at Kensington Palace this morning for the birthday celebrations, which several senior members of the family are set to attend










Royal sources today claimed Prince Harry (left, at Canada House on Tuesday) had ignored crystal-clear orders from the Queen (right) after she instructed him not to announce that both he and Meghan were stepping down from their roles












Natasha Archer, the Duchess of Cambridge's personal assistant and stylist, is pictured leaving Kensington Palace, where Kate enjoyed 38th birthday celebrations today

But the couple defied the order, going ahead with the announcement and 'pressing the nuclear button' on their royal careers, with William and Charles allegedly receiving a copy of the statement just 10 minutes beforehand.
A senior royal source said the Queen and her family were 'deeply disappointed' by the news, while another said the royals were 'shocked, saddened and downright furious' at the couple. 
A senior source told : 'Their statement was not cleared with anyone.

It breaks all protocol. This is a declaration of war on the family.





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'There is fury over how they've done this without any thought for the implications for the institution. The Queen is deeply upset. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are incandescent with rage.
'Courtiers can't believe it.

There are so many unanswered questions but they've just up and done it without a thought for anyone else. The plan was there to discuss it and work out a way that works for everyone in the family.'
News of Prince Harry's defiance to his grandmother was reported in the [url=][/url], which said his lack of compliance will have added to unprecedented expressions of uncertainty coming out of the palace last night.