King Charles and Kate Middleton pulled into Royal racism row as they’re named in Omid Scobie’s Endgame

The Royal Family was tonight said by sources to be ‘united in outrage’ and ‘banded together in their utter condemnation’ of racism claims after King Charles and the Princess of Wales were dragged into the race row over alleged comments made about Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie. The two senior royals were named in the Dutch version of the new book by royal author Omid Scobie, titled Endgame. The Dutch translator who worked on the book, meanwhile, said the names of the King and the Princess of Wales ‘were there in black and white’ in a manuscript she was sent, reports The Mirror[1].

Mr Scobie appeared on ITV’s This Morning programme today (Tuesday) to confirm an investigation had started at the publishers responsible for translating his book into Dutch. He denied including the identities of the two senior royals in his manuscript. Talking about his frustration of the scandal that has sent shockwaves through the monarchy, Mr Scobie blamed the publisher in the Netherlands, saying: “I never submitted a book that had those names in it.”

The Dutch translator who worked on the book today insisted the titles of the King and Princess of Wales were in the manuscript she was sent. Saskia Peeters claimed she did not add the names to the Dutch version of the book. Speaking from her home in Arnhem, she said: “As a translator, I translate what is in front of me.

The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do and that was (to) translate the book from English into Dutch.”

Buckingham Palace said it was ‘considering all options’ after The Mirror revealed how the Royal family was taking emergency legal advice on the allegations. TV presenter Piers Morgan used the opening monologue of his show Piers Morgan Uncensored on Talk TV to identify the King and Princess of Wales as the subjects, saying: “I do not believe any racist comments were ever made by any of the royal family.” During the clip, posted to the show’s official profile on X (formally Twitter) and seen more than 7.7million times since it aired, he said: “If Dutch people walking into a bookshop can see these names then you, the British people are entitled to know, too…(and) until there is actual evidence of those comments being made, I will never believe it.”

The naming of the two royals across UK and international media has plunged the monarchy into crisis, overshadowing the King’s visit to the COP28 environmental gathering in Dubai, where he is due to make a keynote speech tomorrow, arguing how government organisations, the private sector, and philanthropic organisations must come together if we are to save the planet from climate change. Sources said the Royal family was ‘banded together in their utter condemnation’ of the claims any member of the monarchy would use racist language. The Duchess of Sussex first revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 how at least one member of the royal family had engaged in ‘conversations’ with Prince Harry about their child’s skin colour.

Meghan detailed how the context revolved around ‘concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born’. In the wake of Oprah interview, Buckingham Palace Released a short statement, which read: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.

Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.” Prince William also angrily hit back at the claims while on a royal engagement in the day following the Oprah interview, when asked by a reporter: “Is the royal family a racist family, sir?” to which he quickly replied: “We’re very much not a racist family.” Mr Scobie has appeared on US television to suggest he ‘wanted to get to the bottom of’ the comments made by the unnamed royals, despite Harry and Meghan choosing not to discuss it in their own Netflix series or in Harry’s memoir, Spare.

He said he then learned that letters had been exchanged between Meghan and King Charles after the Oprah show and that the situation had not been resolved. A source added: “There is absolute an unequivocal denial that anything said by the two persons named publicly, both in the book and on television, was said or could be considered to be said in a racist manner. How much more should they take?

This is an outrageous smear that first started with the Oprah (Winfrey) interview and now has blown up into another stratosphere.” The King said today he was ‘alright…just about’ as he met Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Dubai. After shaking hands with President Tinubu and asked ‘how are you?’, the monarch replied; “I’m all right very much, just about.

Having had a rather ancient birthday recently recovering from the shock of that.” It is understood the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not been contacted by Buckingham Palace to ask whether they were the source of leaks to Omid Scobie’s book. Mr Scobie has often been referred to as ‘Meghan’s pal’ or a ‘Sussex mouthpiece’, due to his relationship with the former actress before the release of his first global bestseller Finding Freedom, which charted Harry and Meghan’s departure from The Firm.

In his first UK television interview on ITV today he insisted he knew the names of the royal duo at the centre of the race row, but was constrained by legal restrictions in the UK from identifying them. But he offered no explanation as to how the Dutch version of his book, which he admitted to being the author and editor of the English version, contained an entirely new paragraph, naming the King and Princess of Wales as the centre of the damaging claims. He said: “I am obviously frustrated, I wouldn’t say I am upset about it.

“I had never submitted a book that had their names in it, so I can only talk about my version. I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers.

I can’t speak Italian, German, French, Dutch or any of the other languages that it’s come out in.

Pushed by presenters Craig Doyle and Alison Hammond as to whether the admitted error had been a ‘stunt to sell books’, he said: “I wish it was the case.”

Buckingham Palace did not comment.

References

1. ^ reports The Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)