The Prince and Princess of Wales were on Tuesday adopting the late Prince Philip’s “just get on with it” mantra amid the Omid Scobie royal book furore.
Scobie’s latest title, Endgame, hit the shelves today and promises to “look inside” the royal family and “pull back the curtain on an institution in turmoil”.
It makes a series of claims about the royals, criticises an “unpopular King,” describes Prince William as a “power-hungry heir to the throne” and asserts that the future of the royal family is “in a crisis”.
Buckingham and Kensington Palace have refused to comment but sources say both William and Kate were determined to focus on the job in hand. “The princess is focused on doing her job. She is a mum-of-three who has a busy work schedule. That is her focus,” they said.
The business-as-usual approach has been likened to the attitude of William’s grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 in 2021. Philip was known for his no-nonsense outlook to royal duty, famously saying that he just wanted to “get on with it”.
William copied that approach last night when he ignored the Scobie controversy and made a keynote speech about wildlife conservation.
Addressing the 11th annual Tusk Conservation Awards at the Savoy, he spoke of the “disproportionate loss and damage from climate change” that Africa is facing. The prince said: “There must be no let up in our collective efforts to stem the terrifying loss of species and habitats we are all bearing witness to. Those living in Africa emit just a quarter of the emissions than that of the average global citizen, yet the African continent is set to incur disproportionate loss and damage from climate change. But we do have the power to change this and the stories we have heard tonight provide both optimism and hope.”
Scobie has previously been called the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “mouthpiece” for his sympathetic portrayal of the couple but has insisted that he is “not their friend”.
He co-authored the book Finding Freedom — a biography of the Sussexes and their split from the royal family. In extracts from the latest book, Scobie hinted that William “prioritised his loyalty to the monarchy” over loyalty to his brother Harry and briefed the press and palace aides against him.
He is also said to claim that the King is jealous of William’s position and resented Harry’s popularity with the media.
Those in royal circles are reported to have described the book as “plain nasty”, “vicious” and a “skewed” retelling of family events “in the Sussex style”.
Scobie has moved to quash claims that he is a “mouthpiece” for the Sussexes, tweeting: “Let’s get this nonsense out the way — #ENDGAME is about the current state of the British royal family.”
