Omid Scobie’s new book will have a chapter called ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’ – as aides say any claims the Firm is racist will be ‘robustly rebutted’
Omid Scobie‘s new book, Endgame, will deal with allegations of race and bigotry within the Royal Family.
The unofficial spokesman for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who wrote a biography of the couple Finding Freedom in 2020, unveiled the cover of his latest book this week, calling it ‘a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy’.
One chapter will be called ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’ and is likely to tackle claims of racism within the Firm.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex famously told US TV host Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed member of the Royal Family had questioned what skin colour their son Archie, at the time not yet born, was likely to have.
Palace aides have said they are unlikely to comment on the book, but told The Mail on Sunday any charges of racism will be ‘robustly rebutted’.
Omid Scobie ‘s new book Endgame will deal with race and bigotry in the monarchy
One chapter of book will be called ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’ and is likely to tackle claims of racism with the Firm. The full list of chapters is shown
The Sussexes repeatedly denied co-operating with Scobie and his co-author Carolyn Durand on Finding Freedom, but Meghan was later forced to admit in the High Court that she authorised an aide to brief the pair secretly.
Scobie, 42, who was the royal executive editor of Yahoo! News until July of this year, will release his second insider book on November 28.
He shared a sneak peek of what readers can expect from the book in a picture of his work posted to X/Twitter.
The front cover shows three royal couples; King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Prince Harry and Meghan. The promotional material for the new book has already branded Prince William ‘ power-hungry’ and Charles ‘unpopular’.
A source told The Mail on Sunday this weekend: ‘I’ve been told this is bad, very bad. It is unlikely that Royal aides will comment, but if there are charges of racism, they will, of course, be robustly rebutted.’
Endgame is likely to cause further disquiet at Buckingham Palace. It is unknown whether the Sussexes had any input this time, although the author boasts that he interviewed family members.
The book, subtitled ‘Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival’, is billed as an ‘explosive’ look at events surrounding the Queen’s death.
The Sussexes repeatedly denied co-operating with Scobie and his co-author Carolyn Durand on Finding Freedom, but Meghan was later forced to admit in the High Court that she authorised an aide to brief the pair secretly
The Amazon sales pitch states: ‘Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor – and dismantled the protective shield around it.’
Scobie claims to have interviewed ‘current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the Royals and even the family members themselves’.
It was due to be published in August, but the date was pushed back to include events surrounding the Coronation.
A publishing source in America told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The word is this is going to have bombshell after bombshell. Some are even speculating it may name the person who questioned what colour Archie’s skin would be.
‘Everyone knows Omid is the Sussexes’ unofficial mouthpiece, so it’s fair to say there will be a huge deal of interest in this book on both sides of the Atlantic.’
Chapter headings include: ‘Shaky Ground: The Queen is Dead, the Monarchy Faces Trouble’; ‘The Fall of Prince Andrew: Scandal, Shame and Silencing Jane Doe’; ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’; ‘Gloves On: Prince William, Heir to the Throne’; and ‘Gloves Off: Prince Harry, Man on a Mission’.
Publisher HarperCollins has previously said that the book will ‘have the world talking’, and Scobie has warned it will reveal moments the Royals should be ‘ashamed of.’
In Finding Freedom, Scobie wrote in detail about the first night Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, spent together and recounted seemingly verbatim conversations between the Sussexes and senior royals.
He has continued to be a favoured mouthpiece for the Sussexes and is often the first to post information about their charitable endeavours and awards on social media.
This week, he took yet another dig at the King and Queen for walking along a red carpet laid out for them over bare ground in Kenya during their State Visit last week.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘Even if this was a choice made by the hosts (and it probably was), the optics of the King and Queen walking on a red carpet to avoid soil at Nairobi National Park are pretty ridiculous and out of touch.
‘A clued-up Palace aide could have easily asked for it to be removed.’
But Scobie was criticised for his comment, including by Kenyan journalist Joseph Wakhungu, who wrote: ‘I can tell you that’s just how all visiting heads of state and government are treated when they land in Kenya.’
Responding to a fan on social media who wrote of Endgame, ‘I hope it goes further and deeper than Finding Freedom’, Scobie responded: ‘They’re worlds apart.’
Scobie posted a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed chapter 13 of his book, ‘A Dangerous Game: Royals and the Media’ suggesting he may take aim at the British press
Scobie previously revealed a whole chapter of Endgame focuses on Prince William.
The chapter, called ‘Gloves On: Prince William, Heir to the Throne’, is likely to cause concern at the Palace, given Mr Scobie’s outspoken support of Prince Harry and Meghan in the past.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s staff are likely to be worried the chapter will not be favourable to the Prince, and will repeat some of the unflattering allegations made in Harry’s book Spare.
This could include an alleged physical altercation in which Prince William is said to have pushed Harry into a dog bowl at Frogmore Cottage.
The Duke also wrote that his brother, with whom he has not spoken for months, called his wife ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’.
There is also a chapter labelled ”Oh God, I Hate This’: King Charles’s Premiere’ – a reference to a comment made by Charles about a pen that leaked while he was signing a visitor’s book in Belfast four days after Queen Elizabeth II died.
The author also revealed there is a chapter called ‘The Fall of Prince Andrew: Scandal, Shame and Silencing Jane Doe’.
In a message posted on X, Mr Scobie said: ‘Just been told that #ENDGAME is officially at the printers! A little sneak peek for you all.’
An X user then asked him: ‘You have an audio version?’ And Mr Scobie replied: ‘Yup! Out the same day as the book.’