Omid Scobie's UK agent did send a draft manuscript of Endgame identifying the two royals at the centre of a race storm to be translated into Dutch, it has been claimed.
United Talent Agency then sent a final version just weeks before going to print omitting the names of the two senior palace figures implicated in the Sussex race row, according to The Sunday Times.
Thousands of copies of the Dutch version of Scobie’s book were dramatically pulled from shelves and pulped after King Charles and the Princess of Wales were identified as the royals who allegedly made remarks about the skin colour of unborn baby Archie.
The allegations were first made during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Meghan said there had been “concerns and conversations” within the palace about the skin colour of the firstborn son. Prince Harry later denied that he and Meghan had accused a senior member of the royal family of racism.
Scobie has denied ever writing their names in the English manuscript, while the Dutch publisher initially chalked the blunder down to a “translation error”.
Now, a possible explanation has emerged after The Sunday Times reported that Scobie’s agent sent the Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers a final version of the book’s manuscript – which did not contain the names – weeks before publication.
However, United Talent Agency, which manages Scobie, sent an earlier draft copy to the publishing house to get its translation underway, the newspaper reported citing a source.
According to The Sunday Times, translators worked on this signed-off manuscript instead of the final copy received ahead of the release of Endgame – published as Eindstrijd (meaning “Final Battle”) in the Netherlands.
Buckingham Palace has not issued an official statement yet but is considering all options, including legal action in response to the scandal.
The Independent has contacted Scobie, UTA, and Xander Uitgevers for comment.
Omid Scobie refuses to apologise to two ‘racist royals’ named in Dutch book.— (BBC Newsnight)
Last week, one of the two translators who worked on the book, Saskia Peeters told MailOnline that Charles and Catherine’s names were in the manuscript that she received. “I translate what is in front of me … I did not add them,” she said.
Peeters also said the controversy had been “upsetting”, adding that she wasn’t sure why Scobie had denied writing the names in the first place.
“I don’t know why he would say that. I have been translating for many years,” she said. “This is the first time anything like this has happened. This is not something I wanted to be involved in. This has been upsetting.”
After the story first broke last week, Scobie claimed there was “no version” of Endgame that he wrote which contained the names of Charles and Catherine.
Appearing on the Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard, he said: “The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, I’m sure the publishers will have it under control.
“I wrote and edited the English version,” he added. “There’s never been no version that I’ve produced that has names in it.”
British journalist Piers Morgan sensationally named the “royal racists” during an episode of his TalkTV show last Thursday (30 November), adding that the British public deserve to know who they are “if Dutch people wandering into a bookshop can pick it up and see these names”.
He added that he did not believe the accusations of racism being levelled against the royal family.
According to the latest statement from Xander Uitgevers, which published the book in the the Netherlands, the corrected version will be released on 8 December.
Their message read: “The corrected edition of Final Battle (Endgame)by Omid Scobie will be available in bookstores on Friday, 8 December.
“Xander Uitgevers was forced to temporarily withdraw the book from the market because an error had occurred in the Dutch edition.”
