TV host Piers Morgan defended his decision to identify the two members of the royal family at the centre of the furore, saying it was “blindingly obvious” they were not guilty of racism.
Prince Harry and Meghan are yet to break their silence after the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s book Endgameidentified two royals at the centre of a racism row.
King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as the royals accused of raising questions about the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie, before he was born.
The Sussexes – who first made the claims in their 2021 interview with Oprah – have been silent so far on the situation.
A source close to the royal family has called on the Sussexes to speak out and defend their relatives as their silence is “deafening”, according to The Telegraph.
TV host Piers Morgan defended his decision to identify the two members of the royal family at the centre of the furore, saying it was “blindingly obvious” they were not guilty of racism.
The Dutch version of Endgame was pulled from the shelves, the publisher dismissing the edition containing the names as a “translation error”.
Mr Scobie told Newsnight it was not for him to apologise because he still wanted to know what had happened.
He said: “The book I edited and signed off on did not have names in it.”
Key Points
Show latest update
Endgame page 128: Inside the leaked Dutch version of Scobie book which names royal ‘racist’
A new book about the royal family has reignited a racism row, after it named two members of the family who allegedly made comments about the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son.
Endgame, by royal author Omid Scobie, refers to the row that started two years ago after comments made by Meghan Markle in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 13:40
The Crown’s dialect coach on teaching actors to sound like Princess Diana: ‘Everybody struggles with this posh “ah” sound’
For more than a decade, William Conacher has been teaching stars from Naomi Watts to Elizabeth Debicki how to sound like the Princess of Wales. Ahead of the final batch of ‘The Crown’ episodes, he gives Isobel Lewis a lesson in Diana-isms:
The late Princess Diana had one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, and the voice to match. Over the years, plenty have parodied the doe-eyed, low-voiced royal. But according to dialect coach William Conacher, the man responsible for getting some of the world’s biggest actors to sound like Diana, it’s much more complex than it might seem.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 13:00
From Oprah to Endgame: How the Harry and Meghan royal racism row unfolded
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, sat across from Oprah Winfrey in a sprawling LA mansion, making the astonishing claim that a senior member of the royal family had made comments about the skin colour of their then unborn child, Archie.
The fallout was enormous, and though the Duke of Sussex later distanced himself from the remarks, the damage to The Firm was undeniable.
Fast forward two years when Omid Scobie’s book, Endgame, which purports to expose the monarchy and the fierce battles fought among the royals, reignited the damaging row thanks to a “translation error” which identified the two senior royals at the heart of the claims: Charles and Catherine.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 12:07
Boris Johnson says questioning a baby’s skin colour is just ‘human nature’ amid royal racism row
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 11:12
Boris Johnson weighs in on royal racism row
Former UK prime Minister Boris Johnson has called the racism row surrounding the royal family “normal” and “not remotely racist”.
The racism row has reared its head once more in the wake of Omid Scobie’s tell-all book, which hit the stands on Tuesday.
While the English version made no mention of who said what, a misprint in the recalled Dutch translation pointed the finger at two senior royals.
The revelation of the accused royals made headlines around the world and saw Dutch versions of the book pulled from shelves.
The former PM wrote in the Daily Mail: “To ask such questions, in anticipation of a happy event, is simple human nature.
“It is one of the greatest joys and -mysteries of life that we have no real idea, in utero, what our children will look like … that, I expect, was exactly the kind of ruminative debate that the so-called royal racist was having.”
The former prime minister went on to use his op-ed to attack “wokery and cancel culture”, which he believes is at the heart of the latest royal fiasco.
He said: “Frankly, I neither know nor care which royal said something about Archie, but I am certain that he or she was not remotely racist.
“It’s time to stop all this nonsense, and re-draw the distinction between the ugliness of racism and prejudice – against which we have abundant statutes – and ordinary, innocent patterns of human thought and behaviour.”
(PA Wire)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 10:18
Voices: Why won’t Prince Harry speak out to defend his dad?
As the royal ‘exposer-in-chief’ Omid Scobie is lambasted for betraying so many private conversations with his gossipy book ‘Endgame’, Harry’s biographer Angela Levin asks why has there been no word from the Sussexes.
The test to determine whether Harry and Meghan were involved with Omid Scobie’s new book, Endgame, is to see if Prince Harry sues him. Harry dislikes anyone breaching his privacy and is a regular at the high courts.
Similarly, Meghan isn’t known to be slow in calling out intrusion when private correspondence is thrust into the public domain. It is something she has done before, and after the contents of private letters exchanged between King Charles have been exposed, why not now?
Why won’t Prince Harry speak out to defend his dad?
As the royal ‘exposer-in-chief’ Omid Scobie is lambasted for betraying so many private conversations with his gossipy book ‘Endgame’, Harry’s biographer Angela Levin asks why has there been no word from the Sussexes
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 09:52
Omid Scobie refuses to apologise after King Charles and Kate named in Dutch book
Author Omid Scobie has refused to apologise as King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as the two senior royal figures alleged to have made “concerns” over Prince Harry and Meghan’s son’s skin colour before he was born. Appearing on BBC Newsnight with Victoria Derbyshire on Thursday (30 November), Mr Dobie said: “It’s not for me to apologise because I still want to know what’s happened.” The 42-year-old was asked if he could “hand on heart” say the naming of the two royals in the Dutch version of Endgame was not a “publicity stunt to sell more books”. Mr Dobie replied: “On my life, on my family’s life.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 08:37
Prince Harry and Meghan’ urged to defend King and Princess of Wales’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been urged to back the King and Princess of Wales amid accusations of racism.
Prince Harry and Meghan have so far made no comment after Charles III and Katherine were accused of raising questions about the skin colour of Archie in a Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s Endgame.
“For the couple that talked about ‘death by a thousand no comments’, the silence at this point is deafening,” a source close to Prince Harry and Meghan told The Telegraph, as they urged the couple to defend their relatives.
(Getty Images)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain2 December 2023 07:46
Harry and Meghan agreed Spotify deal ‘because they needed serious money’
Jane Dalton2 December 2023 07:00
Kate Middleton ‘took elocution lessons’, author says
Reminder: The Princess of Wales has taken elocution lessons and now sounds more posh than her husband, Omid Scobie claimed:
Jane Dalton2 December 2023 06:30