- By Sean Seddon, Victoria Derbyshire and Hollie Cole
- BBC News
November 30, 2023
Updated 33 minutes ago
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Watch: Omid Scobie denies Dutch misprint was a publicity stunt
An author whose book sparked a row over allegations of racism within the royal family said the naming of two people in one issue was not a deliberate publicity stunt.
Omid Scobie said he did not know how a Dutch translation of Endgame came to include the names of King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
They have reportedly discussed the skin color of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s unborn baby.
Scobie insists the naming was a mistake.
He told BBC Two’s Newsnight that a “full investigation” was underway to find out how the names were included, adding the English version of the book: “I wrote, the book I edited included no names.”
The passage refers to allegations made by Prince Harry and Meghan during their revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
In the English version of the book, Scobie claimed that there were two people involved and that he knew their identities, but for legal reasons the names could not be revealed.
However, the Dutch edition of his book, entitled Eindstrijd, apparently identified the two members of the royal family who were allegedly involved in the conversation. The BBC has seen a copy of the Dutch translation, which names the king and Catherine as the two royals who spoke about the baby.
They were identified by broadcaster Piers Morgan earlier this week.
Asked about reports that Buckingham Palace is considering legal action over Morgan’s naming of the two royals, a palace spokesman said: “We are considering all options.”
Speaking to TalkTV, Security Minister Tom Stimmehat said the allegations against the King and Princess of Wales were “completely unproven”.
“The King has done an outstanding job for us, not just in the last year since he has been King, but he has served brilliantly for the interests of the British people for many, many years as Prince of Wales,” he said.
He added that he viewed it as “rumor, hearsay and an attempt to denigrate someone who has served our country for many, many years with tremendous dignity and tremendous grace.”
Scobie told the BBC he learned about the Dutch translation controversy “on social media” and said he was looking forward to finding out more.
Asked whether the names had been deliberately included in the Dutch version to generate interest in the book, Scobie said he was “hurt” by “conspiracy theories that this was a publicity stunt.”
He continued: “This is all frustrating because it leads to something that couldn’t be further from the truth. And to be honest, I always felt like the names weren’t necessary for this discussion.”
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Editor Xander Uitgevers said Tuesday that Endgame was “temporarily withdrawn” in the Netherlands.
Scobie said the dispute “overshadowed” the book’s publication and that he received several death threats as a result.
Asked if he would apologize for the name-calling, he said: “It’s not my place to apologize because I still want to know what happened.”
On Thursday morning, Scobie told ITV’s This Morning that he had “never submitted a book that had their names in it.”
The Dutch version has been withdrawn from sale. Publisher Xander Uitgevers said the book would be republished in a “corrected” version on Friday.
“There was an error in the Dutch translation that is currently being corrected,” said managing director Anke Roelen on Tuesday evening.
Representatives for Prince Harry and Meghan have not responded to the BBC’s request for comment about the book.
During her 2021 interview, Meghan told Oprah Winfrey that Harry was asked by an unnamed family member “how dark” their son Archie’s skin might be.
The claims were explosive – Buckingham Palace described them as “concerning” and said they were being taken “very seriously”.
However, in later interviews, Prince Harry was asked whether he would describe the comment about his son’s skin color as racist. In January he told ITV’s Tom Bradby: “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Endgame” isn’t Scobie’s first book about the royal family. In 2020, he and Carolyn Durand co-wrote a biography of Meghan called Finding Freedom.
She told the court that she had forgotten to provide “letter notes” to one of her employees who she knew had been in contact with Scobie and Durand.