The Queen could be forced to 'fight back' against Harry's upcoming autobiography

Since stepping down as senior members of the royal family in early 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the UK and moved overseas to settle in the Californian seaside town of Montecito with their son, Archie Harrison, and the couple recently welcomed their first daughter, Lilibet Diana.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced a number of new ventures over the last 18 months - including lucrative Netflix and book deals - but it was news of Harry's upcoming memoir that has proved increasingly controversial.

During a tell-all interview with US chat show host Oprah in the Spring, the couple revealed they are 'thriving' after waving goodbye to the monarchy, and in his new autobiography the Duke revealed he was writing 'not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become.'

He said: 'I've worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope that in telling my story - the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned - I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.

'I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I've learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a first-hand account of my life that's accurate and wholly truthful.'

However, Paul Burrell, former servant of the British Royal Household, has claimed that the Queen may be forced to 'fight back'.

He told Closer magazine: 'The Queen lawyering up is totally unprecedented - it's her way of saying, "Enough is enough now".

'The Queen is a warm, fair, loyal, forgiving, compassionate woman - but if you cross her more than once, or tell her lies, you lose her respect. And it seems things have gone too far - Harry and Meghan show no signs of stopping the missiles.

'Back in the day, the 'never complain, never explain' rule could work, and it added to the mystery and privacy of the royals. Nowadays, with how quickly news travels and social media, it simply can't work, especially given Harry and Meghan's allegations.'

The former royal employee also claimed that the Queen is 'apprehensive about what could come next', adding: 'This constant drip of information from across the Atlantic, which seems never-ending, has the potential to do an awful lot of damage to both the monarchy and her family.'

The Palace has not commented.