Two royals named in Omid Scobie’s book as having “concerns” about Prince Archie’s skin color were identified on British television last night.
They were revealed by Piers Morgan on his talk TV show and he followed up the claim by publishing it to his 8.7 million social media followers.
On Tuesday it emerged that a Dutch translation of Scobie’s book containing the names was available for sale in the Netherlands. The publisher was forced to withdraw and destroy copies, under the widely derided claim that it was a translation error.
The two senior royals were not publicly named here until Morgan’s move last night.
The presenter attempted to justify his decision by arguing that he was responding to the witch hunt sparked by Harry and Meghan’s decision to air the racial issue without providing context or granting a right to respond. The royal family later said the allegations were concerning but that memories may vary.
On his talk TV show tonight, Piers Morgan named the two senior royals who Omid Scobie claims are the ones who have “concerns” about Prince Archie’s skin color
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with their little son Archie in South Africa in September 2019
In this official photo from July 2019, Prince Archie is pictured with his parents at his christening
The Dutch translation of Mr. Scobie’s book “Endgame” appeared to reveal the name of the person who allegedly made the comment. Pictured: Omid Scobie
The row was reignited this week by Omid Scobie’s “toxic” royal book on the monarchy, in which he said there were not one but two senior royals identified by the Duchess of Sussex in letters subsequently sent to her King Charles wrote on this subject next year.
Morgan argued that this would allow people in the UK to have a “more open debate about this whole fuss”, saying: “Because I don’t think anyone from the royal family has ever made racist comments, and as long as there are no real ones. “I will never believe it if there is evidence that these comments were made.
“But now we can start to find out whether they were ever uttered, what context they were in and whether there was any racist intent at all – as I said, I don’t think there was any.” The Royals, who in this called a book are…’
The Mail has decided at this point not to name the people involved and has redacted its quotes.
Morgan’s decision is likely to cause anger and disappointment at Buckingham Palace, which had refused to get involved in the row sparked by Scobie’s book and had probably hoped that gossip on the issue would be limited to online and social media chatter would.
Copies of British journalist and writer Omid Scobie’s book Endgame are sold in a bookshop in London. The Dutch edition of the book about the British royal family has been temporarily removed from shelves in the Netherlands due to an error
The original claim was made by Meghan Markle in the Sussexes’ infamous 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview (pictured), when she revealed that there had been “multiple conversations” between her, Harry and members of the royal family about “how dark” Archie was would be
Scobie claimed in the English version of his book Endgame that although he knew the names of the two people involved – and had hinted at even more clues in the US media in recent days – he did not name them due to strict libel laws in the UK could.
Meanwhile, pressure mounted on Scobie last night to explain how a second member of the royal family was named in a Dutch translation of his book.
Neither Meghan nor Prince Harry have named the person involved since speaking out about it in their sensational 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, which led to feverish speculation about the identity of the “royal racist.”
Scobie and his Netherlands-based publishers were forced to pull the book from shelves and put publication on hold, but dismissed it as a “translation error.” Scobie then insisted on Dutch television that there was “no version of me in which names were mentioned.”
However, yesterday it emerged that in the Dutch version – 200 pages later – a second name had been published alongside a repeat of the first. And this time it wasn’t just a word, but a sentence.
It said: “Even after Meghan and Charles discussed possible unconscious bias within the family in a letter after it was revealed that…”[redacted] And… [redacted] had participated in such discussions about Archie,… [redacted] I avoided discussing the topic with… [redacted].’ Furthermore, in the English version and other translations, Scobie writes that he believes he cannot name the people involved for legal reasons, but there is no such statement in the Dutch edition.
Publishing experts yesterday questioned how such a monumental mistake could have occurred.
Some speculated that an early draft may have been sent to Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers that intentionally named the two royals before legal advice was given and the identities were removed.
Sources in the Netherlands pointed out that it was a small company, unlike literary giant Harper Collins, which publishes Endgame in the US and UK. “Perhaps someone didn’t see a memo instructing them to delete certain paragraphs for legal reasons, or someone from America simply forgot to send the revised manuscript to this tiny country in Europe?” they asked. “There doesn’t seem to be any explanation other than what was originally there.”
Dutch royal journalist Rick Evers, who first noticed the discrepancy, added: “When you compare the English and Dutch versions, it becomes clear that there are significant discrepancies between the two.”
“The Dutch version contains additional paragraphs with names that are not included in the English version.” So it cannot be a translation error. This suggests that they were in the version originally sent to the Dutch publishers. There is no other way.’
Scobie, who has received many negative reviews for his critical book, admitted that a “mistake” had occurred but did not repeat his claim that he had “never” written a version that included the names.
He said: “As I have only written and edited the English version of Endgame, I can only comment on that manuscript – which does not name the two people who took part in the conversation.”
“I’m pleased to hear that the error in the translation of the Dutch edition of the book is being corrected.” Xander confirmed that an “error” had occurred and said the “corrected” edition would be available in stores from December 8th .
Buckingham Palace declined to comment. PR expert Mark Borkowski said: “These arguments and chatter will just stop.” When [Harry’s memoir] “Spare has done nothing to displace the royal brand. A journalist whose credibility is in question will do nothing.”
International media lawyer Mark Stephens suggested the royals could sue Scobie on privacy grounds, adding: “It’s difficult to imagine a name unknown to a translator becoming a name.” This is an unusual translation error.”