Royal photographer Arthur Edwards has dismissed claims that Kate Middleton is “cold and vacant”, in light of Omid Scobie’s new book about the Royal Family.
Edwards, who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for his exceptional service to newspapers, praised the Princess of Wales as a joy to photograph, countering claims made against her in Scobie’s latest book, Endgame.
Scobie’s second book on the Windsors delves into an alleged power struggle between King Charles and Prince William, among other claims.
The author, often seen as a “mouthpiece” for Meghan Markle despite denying close friendship, also discusses the King’s relationship with brother Prince Andrew and makes several claims about Prince William’s attitude towards his brother Prince Harry.
He paints an unflattering image of the future Queen of England in his book, suggesting she works “part-time” and has earned the nickname “Katie Keen” because the palace press office allegedly covers up her lower workload by saying she is “keen to learn”.
READ MORE: Omid Scobie accused by Queen’s former press secretary of ‘trashing’ royals
Scobie brands Princess Kate as “cold” and alleges that despite advocating for mental health, Kate “ignored Meghan Markle’s cries for help” during a mental health crisis.
He also claims the princess had “no interest in being friends with her sister-in-law”. Scobie compares the two, stating Kate isn’t known for her “leadership and outgoing nature”.
Photographer Arthur Edwards spoke to Nicola Thorp and Jeremy Kyle on Talk Today, expressing his belief that many revelations in Endgame are “untrue”. He defended the Princess of Wales against negative portrayals.
Edwards said: “Last night I looked at some of my pictures of Kate just thinking where has he got this from. Katie is keen, she really does a great job. She’s got three children she wants to spend time with but at the same time, she gives an awful lot of her time to the Royal Family.
“Alright, she turns up in nice outfits and she looks great, and she is a photographer’s dream I have to say, when I see some of the things she does when she gets involved in sports, she plays sports like she’s a sportsman all her life, she just gives everything to it and she’s absolutely a joy to photograph.
“The fact she doesn’t think she’s pulling her weight – well, I covered Meghan for that first 18 months.
“I thought she was a great addition to the Royal Family and she was okay, but not a patch on Kate. Meghan would always be safe, doing the selfies, doing the autographs but Kate would absolutely charm children, and so would Harry.”
Edwards also shared his thoughts on how the royals might react to the book’s allegations, and said: “I think they’ll be pretty angry about it as most of it is untrue. The fact that the King briefs the journalists – now look I’ve been working with him over 40 years, he’s never once briefed me.
“I’ve had a few rockets from him but he’s never told me what’s happening and he wouldn’t. He would never discuss that. You wouldn’t even dream of asking him about his family, we’d never discuss that.
“When he came back from Scotland after the Queen died, he arrived at Northolt and I was there. He got off the plane and I said ‘I’m so sorry about what’s happened to your mum,’ and he said, ‘Well it was inevitable it would happen one day’.
“Since then, the book claims he muddled through the first 100 days. I covered those first 100 days. The crowds were huge, he was inspiring, I don’t know how he did it.
“I was told during the day he put on this great show because obviously he was grieving inside for his mother and he did a brilliant job. The fact he briefs and Camilla briefs I mean it’s just a joke but the worst of all is Kate. ‘Katie Keen’.”
Before his book Endgame hit the shelves on Tuesday, author Scobie took to X (formerly Twitter) last week. He urged his followers: “Whether you like my work or loathe it, all I ask is that if you are reading coverage about what’s supposedly inside #ENDGAME, please also read the book itself.
“Incorrect and bad translations, snippets without context, leaks etc. do not tell the full or accurate story. Thank you.”
An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
