Omid Scobie's new royal book Endgame was always going to be met with some controversy. Scobie's last book, Finding Freedom, only exacerbated the feud between former working royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the rest of the Royal Family. His new book, Endgame: Inside The Royal Family And The Monarchy's Fight For Survival, it set to 'pull back the curtain on an institution in turmoil' according to the author.
Endgame's chapters include Race And The Royals: Institutional Bigotry And Denial, and Gloves On: Prince William, Heir To The Throne - so it's safe to say the book wades into murky territory. The response, so far, has been mixed. The BBC calls the book repetative in relation to Scobie's previous work, claiming it's 'more like action replay', while Piers Morgan branded the book 'lies' and called Scobie a 'weasel' in a damning review. In contrast, The Washington Post calls it 'a well-timed treat' in relation to the release of The Crown season 6.
Much like deciphering how much of The Crown is accurate, the jury's out on how true these claims are - after all, the only people who really know what goes on behind closed doors within the Royal Family are the Royal Family. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have so far declined to comment on the claims made in Endgame.
These are the five main takeaways from Omid Scobie's Endgame, including some of the book's most controversial claims.
There's 'animosity' between King Charles and Prince William
While it's clear that relations between Prince Harry and his father Prince Charles are strained, Endgame also points to a great deal of friction between Charles and his eldest son, Prince William.
In a chapter dedicated to discussing Prince William's position in the family, Scobie writes: "Distrust and simmering animosity between father and son are nothing new to their working relationship."
The book also discusses how the treatment of Prince Andrew was a sticking point for Charles and William, with William allegedly pushing for Prince Andrew’s ‘HRH’ styling to be removed, while Charles was more reluctant to take formal action against his younger brother. The book claims that the pair were in 'lockstep' over this decision.
In Endgame, William is painted as a man who is becoming a slave to the institution, described by Scobie as a 'company man - an institutional champion who's privately embraced the draconian tactics of an antiquated and often vicious institution'.
'Casual racism' at the Palace is 'as bad as you think it is', claims staff
In Endgame, Scobie dedicates a chapter to racism allegations within the royal family with sources claiming the palace 'still has a long way to go' before it becomes an inclusive environment. He quotes a 'non-white member of royal household staff' as saying: "I would be lying if I said it’s not a difficult environment to be a person of colour."
The staff member chose to remain anonymous but was willing to share their experience of working at the palace. They said: "I have not witnessed outright, explicit racism but I have certainly experienced, and seen others experience, micro-aggressions and prejudice at work. This place still has a long way to go when it comes to everyone working here being able to feel completely comfortable."
Most damningly, Scobie quotes another former staffer who says the attitude at the palace is from 'another era'. They claim: "The ignorance and casual racism is as bad as you think it is. It felt like another era sometimes."
Recent speculation has seen reports of two royal family members being named in 'error' in the Dutch translation of Endgame. It's claimed that these are the two family members who 'questioned' Archie's skin colour before the birth, but Scobie has denied that these names were ever featured in his writing. The US-based British writer said on This Morning while discussing the release of Endgame: "I never submitted a book that had those names in it," before adding that he is as 'frustrated as everyone else'.
Queen Camilla has 'great sympathy' for Meghan Markle
It's not an alliance you would immediately think of, but according to Scobie in Endgame, Queen Camilla has 'great sympathy' for what Meghan went through.
However, she also reportedly has 'no respect' for the way the Duke and Duchess of Sussex handled themselves and their decision to air their issues in such a high-profile manner, according to Scobie. The extract reads: "As for her relationship with Harry and Meghan, there is none. Camilla has told others she has 'great sympathy' for what Meghan went through but, according to a royal source, has 'no respect for the way they handled themselves'."
Kate Middleton 'ignored' Meghan's cries for help
Kate Middleton is portrayed in the book as being cold towards Meghan and 'ignoring' her cries for help. According to another source, the Princess of Wales can be 'cold if she doesn't like someone'.
Scobie continues: "This is a side of Kate that rarely gets written about. Advocating for mental health causes - the mental health of mothers, for that matter - but ignoring her own sister-in-law's cries for help seemed out of character for someone the public knew as sweet and easy to get along with."
It's true that the pair appear to share a frosty relationship, which is no surprise given the circumstances. Rumours have swirled of ill-treatment on both sides. It was originally reported in the press that Meghan made Kate cry in the run-up to her wedding over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress. However, during the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed: "The reverse happened."
Kate's uncle went on to defend her over the crying incident, saying (via The Sun): "I've known Kate since she was born and she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. It’s just simply not in her nature. She’s even lovelier on the inside than on the outside. If anyone had a hissy fit, it must have been Meghan."
While it's unclear exactly what happened that day (and worth remembering that sources commenting on the event weren't actually there) the tension between the two royals is clear.
Nobody told Prince Harry that the Queen had died
In a sad and shocking claim, Endgame reveals that Harry found out the Queen had passed away through a news notification on his phone. Scobie claims in the book that only Princess Eugenie - who has been reported to have a close relationship with the Sussexes - kept Harry up to date with the late Queen's ill health.
When the monarch passed away, Harry was on a flight to Scotland so was made aware of the news after the official announcement was made. Scobie reports that Harry’s team did try to persuade the Palace to delay the official announcement until he was off the flight and could be contacted, to try and avoid the situation unfolding as it did.
Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival is available to buy now.
