How the Queen beat Harry and Meghan in a 'war of words'

The whole world was shocked when Harry and Meghan revealed they were quitting the royal family, but no one was more surprised than the Queen.

According to the Mirror, the Queen and the rest of the royal family were only told the news just before it was released to the public, and it reportedly caused a lot of anger and upset behind closed doors.

The pair shared the news on Instagram, but a few days later the Queen had her own message.

In new documentary Our Queen: In Her Own Words, narrator Andrew Scarborough revealed that she "beat Harry and Meghan in a war of words and proved herself to be the Queen of social media.

"#Megxit trended all over the world and dragged the Queen into a Twitterstorm."

Scarborough claims Meghan and Harry's words were a complete surprise to the Queen, who "took back control" with her own message.

"Although the Queen had been caught off guard, a brief and concise tweet posted just hours later revealed that discussions were at an early stage.

"In just 34 friendly words, the Queen had taken back control of the situation."

No one was more surprised by Harry and Meghan's shock decision than the Queen. Photo / Getty Images

Royal expert Wesley Kerr said the situation was like "a kettle which had been coming up to boil and it boiled over.

"They issued that sudden statement saying that they would be stepping back from their role as senior royals and that they had laid out what their terms would be."

In the following days, royals and their aides were in crisis talks to sort out the logistics of Harry and Meghan's decision.

And the couple were reportedly unhappy with the terms of the final arrangement, particularly the Queen's decision to forbid them from using the word "royal" in their branding.

It meant they had to close down their incredibly popular Instagram page Sussex Royal, which they had used to speak directly to their fans.