Omid Scobie appears to admit two ‘royal racists’ were named in Endgame draft | UK News

Writer Omid Scobie appears to have admitted the two royals alleged to have voiced ‘concerns’ about the skin colour of Harry and Meghan’s son were named in an earlier version of the text.

The Dutch version of his latest book Endgame were pulled from shelves last week after they identified King Charles and the Princess of Wales as members of the Royal Family said to have questioned Prince Archie’s skin tone before he was born.

When the controversy first emerged, Scobie denied ever naming the royals alleged to have made the comments, telling RTL Boulevard: ‘For me, I edited and wrote the English version; there has never been a version that I’ve produced that has names in it.’

But in an opinion piece for the i on Friday, Scobie said ‘early and uncleared text’ was provided to a Dutch publisher with plans that its translation of the text ‘would be updated to reflect the final version of the book’.

He wrote: ‘To be clear, the only publisher I worked directly with was the one covering the US and UK. I spent almost two months with independent British barristers and in-house legal counsel to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight.

‘Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and uncleared text was provided to the Dutch publisher in order for them to start work on the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book I officially submitted.’

Scobie said publishers in other countries, including France and Italy, adopted the same practice and produced versions of the book that ‘perfectly replicated the completed work’.

The US-based British journalist added: ‘What I can be sure of is that I edited carefully, took independent legal advice, and the finished book that I submitted was not the version published in the Netherlands.’

Scobie is said to be close to Harry and Meghan and co-authored Finding Freedom, a biography of the Sussexes which chronicled the couple in glowing terms.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alleged an unidentified member of the monarchy – but not Queen Elizabeth II or her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh – had raised ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born’.

The version being sold in English-speaking countries does not name the two people, with Mr Scobie stating: ‘Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were.’

According to details in Endgame, the two names came to light in letters exchanged between Meghan and Charles in the aftermath of the Winfrey interview.

The book asserts that the future of the monarchy is ‘in a crisis’ and it is in a ‘fight for survival’.

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have declined to comment on the controversy.

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