Who are the royals named in ‘racism’ storm?
OMID Scobie's book about the Royal Family has stirred controversy since it was released in November 2023.
Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival is at the centre of a scandal triggered by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's explosive revelations during their 2021 Oprah interview.
Why is 'racist royal' trending?
The term 'racist royal' has been trending following the release of Omid Scobie's book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival, in the Netherlands.
The phrase began trending on social media after reports that a translation of Scobie's book "accidentally named" a member of the Royal Family and implied they are racist.
In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan alleged that an unnamed member of the Royal Family had raised concerns about their son Archie's skin colour while Meghan was pregnant.
Speaking about her son, who was born in 2019, Meghan claimed there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born".
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Who are the royals named in 'racism' storm?
In the Dutch version of the book, which were ordered to be destroyed, King Charles and the Princess of Wales were identified as the royals who allegedly made remarks about the skin colour of unborn baby Archie.
In the book Endgame, Scobie claims that Meghan named two members of the Royal Household she says took part in these conversations in private letters she wrote to King Charles.
The book was released on November 28, 2023, but a translation error has meant that thousands of copies of the book have wrongly named a member of the Royal Family with these conversations.
In the English version Scobie writes: "In the pages of these private letters, two identities were revealed. UK laws prevent me from reporting who they were."
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The Dutch version, however, reads: "In those private letters, an identity was revealed and confirmed" — before going on to name a senior royal.
Scobie has said there has "never" been a version of Endgame written by him that "has names in it".
He told Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard: "The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch.
“But if there are translation errors, I'm sure the publishers will have it under control.
“I wrote and edited the English version. There's never been a version that I've produced that has names in it."
The morning after Scobie's interview, it was reported that a second member of the Royal Family was mistakenly named elsewhere in the translated book, with it also being implied that they are racist.
Scobie has said he knows the identities of the two Royal Family members named in Meghan's letters to King Charles.
He told Good Morning America: "I do know who made the comments about Archie's skin colour."
However, he said that he was keeping them to himself, adding ominously, “for now”.
While promoting his own book Spare in early 2023, Prince Harry denied that he and his wife had accused anyone in his family of racism in the Oprah interview, but did suggest there had been "unconscious bias".
What has Omid Scobie said in his book Endgame?
Scobie makes several claims about the Royal Family in his book Endgame.
He alleges that Meghan and Kate Middleton have not spoken for four years, with their last communication being in 2019.
That was the same year that Meghan and Harry left for Canada, though they now live in California.
Scobie also takes a swipe at Kate, stating she is scared to do anything but "grinning photo ops".
He also suggests her accomplishments have been exaggerated, saying: "The small achievements that we've seen from the Princess of Wales wouldn't perhaps be noticed if it was from another member of the , but with Kate it's like 'wow!'"
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Elsewhere in the book, Scobie claims King Charles and his eldest son Prince William are on a "collision course to become rivals".
The author seemingly attempts to portray a rift between the father and son, saying the pair have "clashing approaches and opinions".