British journalist Omid Scobie is back on the royal radar with big promises: to share what the royal family is truly like behind the scenes “completely without favor or fear,” he told Vanity Fair.
Though Scobie claims his new book, “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival,” has the potential to “burn bridges” but early critics argue it is not the bombshell he promised — “the royal tea spilled here isn’t exactly hot,” wrote The Washington Post.
“These days, warts-and-all tell-alls seem to be as integral to the Windsor brand as weddings, jubilees and blockbuster funerals,” panned The New York Times.
Scobie earned his reputation as a royal commentator after co-authoring (with Carolyn Durand), “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family,” which provided perspective on why the couple left their royal lives behind.
In “Endgame,” Scobie picks up after the queen’s death, providing insight on Charles’ dawning reign and the ongoing rift between royal family members, per The New York Times.
“As it is a publicly funded institution, I think it’s important that we’re able to actually stand back and take a look at the big picture,” Scobie told Vanity Fair.
“It’s for those of us who feel more comfortable questioning the purpose and the relevance of the monarchy, but also for those within it who have the ability to either take it forward in a really positive direction where growth and modernization and all of those things are possible.”
5 biggest reveals from Omid Scobie’s ‘Endgame’
While not packed with the bombshells provided by Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare,” Scobie’s recent dig into the royal family provides insight on where the royal family stands more than a year after Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III’s monarchy.
Scobie claims he is not afraid to “burn bridges” with “Endgame’s” release, but his ultimate goal is to “fill in the gaps” and “get the big picture,” the author told Vanity Fair.
Here are five reveals in “Endgame.”
1. Error in Dutch version reveals the alleged royal ‘racist’
When “Endgame” was translated from English to Dutch, an apparent mistake was made and books were pulled from the shelves.
“An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified,” announced the publisher’s managing director, Anke Roelen, on Tuesday, per the BBC.
The error revealed which royal allegedly made comments about the child Meghan and Harry were expecting, potentially confirming a long held rumor: Charles is the one who asked about Archie’s skin color, per the Cut.
Although the books were take off shelves, there is no reliable confirmation that this information was revealed in the Dutch version of “Endgame.”
During their 2021 interview with Oprah, the ex-royal couple revealed that there were concerns within the royal family about the skin color of their unborn child. They did not reveal who made these comments.
Scobie rejects having any involvement with said error. “Having only written and edited the English version of ‘Endgame,’ I can only comment on that manuscript — which does not name the two individuals who took part in the conversation,” Scobie told People. “I’m happy to hear that the error in the translation of the Dutch edition is being fixed.”
2. William portrayed as ‘hot-headed’ heir apparent
Scobie paints William as a “hot-headed” heir who considers his father a transitional figure, with plans to “rip up” the playbook and shake things up “the Cambridge way,” per the Independent. He is allegedly “snapping at Charles’ heels” and becoming “increasingly comfortable with the Palace’s dirty tricks and the courtiers who dream them up,” Scobie writes, per the Week.
Despite his winning public persona, William allegedly has a different reputation among his aides. One aide noted, “It’s a different story when the stage lights go down … when his temper flares behind closed doors, he more closely resembles his famously ill-tempered father,” the book reports, per the Standard. “He can definitely be sharp.”
Another aided echoed the former’s commentary, revealing, “You don’t want to be the bearer of bad news around him. He’s quick to get fed up and blame.”
3. Kate ‘wasn’t a fan’ of Meghan from the start
It seems the rift between royal wives Meghan Markle and Kate may be as severe as the tabloids have claimed it to be, according to “Endgame.” The Princess of Wales “wasn’t a fan” of Meghan from the start and “spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her,” an aide revealed to Scobie, per the Standard.
Five years into Harry and Meghan’s union, Kate allegedly “jokingly shivered when Meghan’s name has come up,” according to “Endgame,” per the Independent.
Scobie goes on to describe Kate as an “institutional dream come true,” and has “successfully sublimated her authentic self, becoming an enigma to the public and perhaps even herself,” per the Independent. He even suggests she has become “posher” than her husband, William.
On the contrary, Meghan has secured a reputation from the media for being difficult “because she had opinions.”
“They wanted Meghan to just go with everything that was suggested and not create any additional work,” Scobie writes, per the Independent. “It was a combination of her not conforming with how women marrying into the family are expected to behave and certain individuals just being lazy.”
4. News alert informed Harry of the Queen’s death
Scobie shares that Harry was cut out of the family’s grieving process following Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022. He was not included on a plane ride north with his elder brother, William. Instead, he took a private jet which was still off ground when the Queen’s death was announced.
“(Harry’s) team literally had to beg for them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit,” Scobie reveals, according to the Independent.
He landed around 6:50 with “a text from Meghan urging him to call ASAP followed by a breaking news alert via the BBC News app,” per the Standard.
“Harry was crushed,” a friend of the duke told Scobie, per the Independent. “His relationship with the queen was everything to him. She would have wanted him to know before it went out to the world. They could have waited just a little longer, it would have been nothing in the grand scheme of things, but no one respected that at all.”
5. Charles has been ‘tearful’ over Andrew’s mental health
Charles remains sympathetic to his disenfranchised younger brother, Andrew.
“During the most heightened moments of Andrew’s downfall,” Scobie writes, per The Washington Post, “Charles was tearful over fears for the shamed duke’s mental health.”
Meanwhile, William apparently does not consider his father “competent enough” to properly manage the Duke of York situation, per the Guardian. But William never possessed much “confidence in his father to do the right thing anyway.”