King Charles will not dignify Omid Scobie’s “tawdry” and “melodramatic” take down of the Royal Family with a response, experts have said.
Copies of Scobie’s book Endgame were pulled from the shelves in the Netherlands on publication day on Tuesday (November 28) after two members of the Royal Family alleged to have raised “concerns” about the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son were named in it. Broadcaster Piers Morgan took the decision to name the pair on his TalkTV show on Wednesday night, saying the British public had a right to know as Dutch readers were aware of their identities.
Pauline Maclaran, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research at Royal Holloway, University of London, described the book as a “melodrama” the contents of which have been hyped up. Asked how the Royal Family might respond to the book, she added: “They will rise above it. The Queen (Elizabeth II) issued a statement after Harry and Meghan first made the claim in their interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“Harry himself has tried to distance himself from those remarks by saying the Royal Family is not racist. He said there may be some unconscious bias. Harry and Meghan’s documentary did not refer [to the allegation]. They have obviously tried to put it behind them. Omid Scobie is just resurrecting all this.”
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry and Meghan alleged an unidentified member of the monarchy had raised “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”.
Scobie states in his book that two people, not one as Meghan claimed, made the comment about Prince Archie, which has been interpreted as a racist remark by some.
Arthur Edwards, The Sun’s royal photographer, said King Charles will focus on tackling climate change rather than Scobie’s “tawdry” book. The monarch is in Dubai for the latest United Nations global warming summit, COP 28.
Mr Edwards, writing in the same publication, said: “The King will not dignify Scobie’s tawdry publication with a response in any possible way. Instead, Charles will focus minds on stopping the world burning up.”
Professor Maclaran agreed, telling Express.co.uk: “I don’t think the book has been given much credibility. It will whip up a storm for a while, become a bestseller for a short while then drop away.
“Prince William made a statement after the Oprah interview saying that the Royal Family is not racist. He will feel pretty aggrieved by these accusations. There’s so many other things in the world to think about. This is at the level of trivia.”
She added Scobie’s resurrecting claims of racism in Endgame will do no no more damage to the monarchy than they already have, but warned Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s brand may have more to lose.
Scobie has taken pains to distance the book from the Sussexes, saying while he shares mutual friends with Meghan, the Duchess was not interviewed for the work.
Professor Maclaran said: “The Sussexes may be worried the book will spoil their chance of restoring relations with the Royal Family. The media has said Omid Scobie was Harry and Meghan’s mouthpiece, but I don’t think that’s correct.
“If that [claim] continues, it will damage Harry and Meghan more than the Royal Family because for the royals it’s just another emotional frenzy. They have had so much of this on a daily basis. They can move past it.
“But with the Sussexes, we know their popularity went down in the US because of their criticism of the Royal Family. I think there is more risk of damage to the Sussex brand because they are associated with the book they are going to be tarnished by that.
“I think they realise it and have tried to distance themselves from the book and Omid Scobie. The Royal Family will weather this storm.”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have declined to comment on Scobie’s book.
