The great escape! Omid Scobie is spotted in LA after his book Endgame reignited a race row and launched ‘vicious’ attacks on Kate, King Charles and Prince William

Omid Scobie has been pictured in LA after his explosive book Endgame caused a storm after reigniting a royal race row.

It also rehashed a row which first came to light in 2021 when the Sussexes gave a tell-all interview to US journalist Oprah Winfrey, in which they alleged members of the royal family had raised concerns about what Prince Archie‘s skin colour would look like when he was born.

Although Scobie insisted ahead of publication that he would not name the members of the royal family alleged to have made the comments, the Dutch version of the book appeared to name the two royals at the centre of the allegations – King Charles and the Princess of Wales.

As the royal family was plunged into crisis and Dutch translations of Endgame were taken off shelves and pulped, Scobie blamed a ‘translation error’ for the two royals being named – however he later appeared to admit that an ‘early’ version of the manuscript, that had not been cleared by lawyers, was sent to translators in the Netherlands.

Omid Scobie, the royal author whose book Endgame caused a storm when it was published at the end of November, has been spotted in LA

Elsewhere, the royal journalist who has previously been sympathetic towards the Sussexes, faced criticism from insiders who branded his book ‘vicious’ for its attacks on some members of the Firm. 

It seems that Scobie, from east London, has jetted off to LA following the fallout from the book, as he was spotted in the Californian city shortly before the new year.

The royal author cut an unassuming figure, dressed all in black with a baseball cap to boot, as he took a stroll.

The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, Rebecca English, reported that while royal aides had told her they expected the book to be a ‘hatchet job’ based on Scobie’s previously flattering tome about the Sussexes, Finding Freedom, it still upset many.

Scobie cut an unassuming figure as he was dressed all in black with a baseball cap to boot

The royal author, known to be sympathetic towards the Sussexes, has kept a low profile since the fallout from the book

Endgame, which launched attacks on several members of the royal family and named the so-called ‘royal racists’ alleged to have made comments about Prince Archie’s skin colour, was published at the end of November

One source said that while much of it is a ‘rehash’ of well-known events from a ‘decidedly Sussex skew’, the almost pantomime nature of the protagonists calls much of what Scobie claims into question.

Another said there was a ‘fairytale’ air to the book. ‘It just shows how little he actually knows. It’s quite embarrassing really,’ they remarked.

Endgame claims: 

• Charles’s ‘ineptitude’ in handling Harry and Meghan – and refusal to give them the apology they demanded – has turned them into ‘disruptors’; 
• Harry tried to ‘reach out’ to his father after the publication of his vitriolic memoir, Spare, earlier this year by calling his father, but felt the King’s response was ‘cold and brief’; 
• Senior royals turned a blind eye to aides leaking details about the Sussexes as part of their power games and subjected them to ‘institutional cruelty’; 
• William and his father are at loggerheads about the future of the monarchy and the handling of family issues; 
• Their ‘distrust and simmering animosity’ resulted in Charles deriving ‘schadenfreude’ from his son’s supposedly disastrous tour of Caribbean last year;
• William is ‘colder’ – but also inexplicably more ‘hot-headed’ – than his father and ‘has no problem taking prisoners on the way’; 
• Camilla colluded in stories being leaked about other royals and has ‘no relationship’ with Harry. The book says she has ‘great sympathy’ for what Meghan went through but ‘no respect’ for the way the Sussexes handled themselves; 
• The King was so indecisive about how to treat his beleaguered brother Andrew that William had to step in to insist he lose his privileges; 
• Charles ‘stumbled’ through his first 100 days as King and Queen Elizabeth had so little faith in him she made a former spymaster her ‘CEO’.

Scobie’s book was also poorly received by critics with outlets including the New York Times taking aim at the book – describing one chapter as ‘like a press release cooked up by ChatGPT’.

Derided as ‘not all that different from what Harry presented in ”Spare”’, most reaction to the book focused on its Dutch language edition, after the controversy it caused.

Despite the race row causing interest in the book, early sales figures suggested Endgame had not performed well in its first week of release, with Nielsen statistics suggesting it sold 6,448 copies in the UK during its first five days.

By contrast, Scobie’s first book on the Sussexes, Finding Freedom, sold 31,000 in its first five days while Harry’s autobiography Spare sold 467,183 – making it the fastest selling non-fiction book since records began in 1998.