Now ‘Sussex cheerleader’ Omid Scobie is set to make fiction debut with book about a ‘young American woman who gets a job at Buckingham Palace and is thrust into hotbed of office politics’

Omid Scobie is making his royal fiction debut with a book about a ‘young American woman who leaves a press role at the White House for one at Buckingham Palace‘.

The author, seen as a cheerleader for Prince Harry and Meghan, is working on a title called ‘Royal Spin’ – billed as a ‘fun, fish-out-of-water romantic workplace comedy’.

The book, co-written with US young adult fiction author Robin Benway, will see the character enter ‘a hotbed of office politics where tradition (almost) always wins’.

While the announcement has been styled as ‘Scobie’s fiction debut’, royal officials will likely await the release with trepidation given the huge controversy caused by the author’s previous two bombshell books – Endgame and Finding Freedom. 

Mr Scobie said the book announcement – revealed last night by the Publishers Weekly website – was ‘exciting news’ and ‘marks the start of something very special’.

Rights have been acquired in North America by Liz Stein, executive editor of William Morrow which is part of HarperCollins, in what was described as a ‘major’ deal.

Omid Scobie, pictured on the BBC’s Newsnight last November after the release of Endgame

Mr Scobie’s book is being co-written with young adult fiction author Robin Benway (pictured)

The deal was brokered by United Talent Agency literary agents Albert Lee and Lisa Grubka – with the same agency selling foreign rights at this week’s London Book Fair.

Mr Lee and Ms Grubka described the book as ‘a fun, fish-out-of-water romantic workplace comedy about a young American woman who leaves a press role at the White House for one at Buckingham Palace, thrusting her into a hotbed of office politics where tradition (almost) always wins.’

And Mr Scobie said on X: ‘Some exciting news to share (via @PublishersWkly). Can’t wait to share more details about this project with you all. Today’s announcement marks the start of something very special.’

Mr Benway also tweeted: ‘It’s been a minute but here’s some exciting news!’ 

The announcement came hours after Mr Scobie hit out at Kensington Palace for a Kate Mother’s Day photo which the Princess apologised for digitally manipulating.

Mr Scobie tweeted: ‘It’s fair to say that most photos released by the offices of public figures have been retouched in some way, so *if* this was an isolated incident then it would just be an unfortunate error.

‘But with the Palace’s long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry), it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share. Gaining that back at this point is an almost impossible task.’

The release of Mr Scobie’s book Endgame last November saw the Dutch translation name two royals who were said to have asked what colour skin Archie would have before he was born

Mr Scobie also released the book Finding Freedom about Harry and Meghan in August 2020

Mr Scobie is seen as a cheerleader for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured in 2022)

Earlier, Mr Scobie also wrote: ‘Wonder what it would be like if they had a good comms team?’ He also described the withdrawal of the photos as ‘mysterious’.

Separately, he tweeted: ‘Plenty to share this year. Needed some time to recharge and work on some new things.’

Mr Scobie caused a huge royal race row last November in his book Endgame when the Dutch translation named two royals who were said to have asked what colour skin Prince Archie would have before he was born.

The author is said to be close to Harry and Meghan and also co-authored the 2020 book Finding Freedom, a biography of the Sussexes which chronicled the couple in glowing terms.

The Sussexes first made the claim a royal had asked about their son’s skin colour when they were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

According to details in Endgame, the two names came to light in letters exchanged between Meghan and Charles in the aftermath of the Oprah interview.

The book – which claimed the identities of those two royals were Charles and Kate – also asserted that the future of the monarchy is ‘in a crisis’ and it is in a ‘fight for survival’.