A U.K. politician has defended King Charles III following claims from Omid Scobie's book that the monarch raised concerns on how dark the skin of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's son Prince Archie would be before he was born.
Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat touched on the lack of evidence to prove that the monarch was one of the "racist" royals referred to by the Sussexes in their Oprah interview in 2021 during an appearance on TalkTV.
Referencing to the author he said: "Some individual has written some rumor and scuttlebutt that has made various claims about His Majesty the King that are, frankly, completely unproven."
Tugendhat praised the "dignity" and "grace" of His Majesty amid the allegations adding: "The King's done a brilliant job for us, not just in the last year since he's been King, but he's been absolutely fantastic for many, many years in arguing in the interests of the British people as Prince of Wales."
Personally, he sees the claim as merely a rumour that is meant to tarnish King Charles III's reputation. He said: "So frankly I see this as just rumor, hearsay and an attempt to disparage somebody who's served our country with enormous dignity and enormous grace for many, many years."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not divulged the names of the alleged senior royal family members who raised concerns about Prince Archie's complexion. The duchess told Oprah that it would be too damaging for them if she revealed their names, although the duke has since clarified that it was neither Prince Philip nor Queen Elizabeth II.
In his book "Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival," Scobie said there were two royals the duchess mentioned in private letters she sent to His Majesty. He did not name these individuals in the original copy of his book because U.K. laws prevented him from doing so.
However, the Dutch version of his tome mistakenly contained their names, thus prompting its release to be pushed back to December 8. Scobie has since denied any involvement with what he referred to as a "translation error" as he did not submit any book with the royals' names on it.
The identities of these alleged "racist" royals were not made public until Piers Morgan on his "Uncensored" show last week revealed them to be King Charles III and Kate Middleton. His action left many royal commentators furious including royal author Angela Levin.
She thought it was "unnecessary and spiteful and nasty" and that it was "very wrong of him" to name them. She added that the former "Good Morning Britain" host, who has long been an outspoken critic of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, could have just kept his mouth shut. Likewise, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams accused the host of trying to seize the moment for publicity.
"To suddenly seize the nation's attention and propel yourself forward in this way, I think, is absolutely shameful, and it just shows that certain individuals would do anything to get publicity," he said.
But Tugendhat said Morgan is not in the wrong to have revealed King Charles III and Kate Middleton's names on TV. He cited "freedom of the press" and said: "It's absolutely essential
that we're able to express our views".
Morgan explained that he decided to reveal the identities of the alleged "racist" royals because he believes there was no racial intent involved. He also urged Scobie to provide evidence to back up his claim. Representatives for King Charles III and for Kate Middleton have yet to respond to this allegation. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also yet to comment. But Buckingham Palace is said to be "considering all options" including legal ones over the assertion.
