‘Played no part’: Couple

Breaking up the Firm Sussexes say they have played no part in book on their experience of life in the Royal family

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex yesterday moved to distance themselves from a tell-all book about their time in the Royal family, which promises the inside story on how they “broke up the Firm”. Finding Freedom, out next month, is set to reveal details of the couple’s frustrations with the palace and press, and their conviction that the institution had failed to support them properly.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting the Sussexes’ “side of the story”, told through friends and royal insiders. The book’s marketing has promised that it would dispel “the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple”.

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess said last night: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. It is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.” The biography, by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, is expected to portray the Sussexes as pioneering forces with the ability to modernise the monarchy, thwarted by “grey suits” at the palace who, they feel, failed to support them, as well as a hostile tabloid press.