Anew royal book has made a number of claims about the royal family, including an alleged rift between King Charles and the Prince of Wales.
Omid Scobie’s latest release, Endgame, which was published on Tuesday, looks at the current state of the British monarchy and what it “must change in order to survive”.
He co-authored a royal biography, Finding Freedom, about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2020. In an interview with The Times, Mr Scobie said that he did not interview Meghan for his latest book.
He insisted he is “not her (Meghan’s) friend” adding: “I have mutual friends with (Meghan), and that definitely helps with getting information and breaking details.”
Royal Rift
Mr Scobie claims in Endgame that there is a growing ‘rift’ between the King and his heir, the Prince of Wales. “He’s [William] not giving his father the same space Charles did with the Queen,” he writes in the book. “There’s no time for that.”
Mr Scobie told The Times: “It would have been nice to see them come together on certain projects perhaps in the early years, to put on that united front, but they’re all working in silos.”
Different Approaches Between the Palace and Prince William
It’s been reported that Prince William was “furious” when his godmother Lady Susan Hussey was embroiled in a race row at Buckingham Palace. According to the book, William “needed to distance himself” from the incident – and took a different approach to the Palace. A Palace source told the book: “It was a rash . . . knee-jerk response. The feeling was they wanted to disassociate, instead of thinking as a team.”
At the time, a Kensington Palace spokesman said: “This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales spokesperson I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it. So let me address it head-on.
“I was really disappointed to hear about the guests’ experience at Buckingham Palace last night. Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.” Omid went on to describe the actions as a “swift rebuke and a remarkably different PR response to what we’ve come to expect from the Palace”.
William Ignored Texts From Harry Before the Queen’s Death
The book claims to recount Harry’s experience on the day his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died. It claims that William did not respond to Harry’s texts as he tried to arrange a flight to Balmoral in Scotland from London.
“It was upsetting to witness,” a source close to the Sussexes told Mr Scobie. “(Harry) was completely by himself on this.”
The Queen died at 3.10pm on 8 September 2022. Harry flew separately to Balmoral from William and other members of his family, with his flight leaving at 5.35pm.
The news of the late Queen’s death was announced by Buckingham Palace at 6.30pm while he was in the air.
Princess Anne Persuaded King Charles to Evict the Sussexes From Frogmore Cottage
It is claimed that the Princess Royal “persuaded Charles to withdraw the use of Frogmore Cottage” from Harry and Meghan. The Duke and Duchess officially vacated their Windsor abode earlier this year.
The Sussexes moved into the Grade-II listed property before Archie’s birth in May 2019, living there for just six months before announcing their decision to leave the UK for a new life overseas.
Harry and Meghan had kept Frogmore Cottage as their UK base up until July 2023, and had repaid the cost of renovations.
Prince Harry and King Charles Spoke Days After the Release Of Spare
According to the book, the Duke and his father had their first proper conversation after the release of Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, on 10 January 2023. Harry was reportedly encouraged by a close friend to reach out to Charles.
A friend of the Duke told Mr Scobie: “It was an awkward conversation, but he knew if he didn’t make those first steps, there would never be any progress. There were no raised voices, no arguments . . . but the King was cold and brief rather than open to any proper dialogue.”
Meghan Keeps in Touch With King Charles
Endgame claims that the Duchess remains in touch with the King, sending him photographs of his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet.
When the King celebrated his 75th birthday earlier this month, Harry and Meghan reportedly recorded a sweet video of Archie and Lilibet singing Happy Birthday to their grandfather.
Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Marred by Harry & Meghan Trailer
In 2022, there was much talk about Prince William’s star-studded Earthshot Prize ceremony, which he attended alongside his wife Kate. However, according to Omid, Netflix deliberately released the first bombshell trailer for Prince Harry and Megan’s intimate Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, on the same day.
“Despite the promotional efforts and high expectations, the awards ceremony, by most accounts, didn’t make the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl,” he wrote. “There was, however, halftime show entertainment courtesy of another royal couple.
“The first trailer for the Sussexes’ intimate Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, released that same day (an intentional move by the streamer, I’m told), promising the “full truth” behind the couple’s departure.” He then added: “It was all anyone could talk about.”
