Members of the royal family were each allowed a private moment alone with Queen Elizabeth after her death in September 2022, a royal book has claimed.
A passage in Endgame, by royal biographer Omid Scobie, describes Her Majesty’s last days at Balmoral after spending the summer at the Aberdeenshire residence, as she did every year.
In Scobie’s description of September 8, 2022, when the queen died, her two eldest children, Charles and Anne, had been at her side during the night; while Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie and Prince William made the trip to Scotland that day; shortly before 4 p.m. and each got a private moment with her after her death.
Elsewhere in the book, the author describes how the Queen’s last summer at Balmoral was largely peaceful; but despite her ill health she continued to fulfill her duty – especially when it came to overseeing the change of British Prime Minister two days before her death.
Scobie writes that despite several palace aides encouraging the monarch to allow Prince Charles (who was staying less than 10 miles away) to accept Boris Johnson’s official resignation and carry out ‘kissing of hands’ with the incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss, the Queen insisted that she carry out this important task, telling the aides: ‘It’s my job.’
The late queen insisted ‘it’s my job’ as she visited Prime Minister Boris Johnson and saw Liz Truss at Balmoral two days before she died, a new book claims
Scobie writes that the late monarch suffered “crippling pain” in private but publicly insisted she had to fulfill her royal duty.
He quoted people close to the palace as saying that the Queen’s last summer at Balmoral was filled with “walks, picnics and barbecues”, and that the monarch spent most of the time in the sun.
But despite a much slower pace of life due to her declining health, the monarch made sure her red box full of government papers was up to date every day and carried out her duty to the best of her ability.
The descriptions that delve into the royal family are among many explosive claims in Scobie’s book, which is being published in Britain at midnight.
Elsewhere, the royal author, who has worked for ABC, Harpers Bazaar and Yahoo, claimed there were two members of the royal family who made comments about Prince Archie’s skin color when Meghan was still pregnant with her son.
He claimed that letters between King Charles III and the Duchess of Sussex contained the names of the two people who allegedly made the comments.
The royal author, whose new book Endgame is released at midnight tonight, said he could not reveal the identities of the two people for fear of legal reprisals in Britain.
But he said letters were exchanged between Charles and Meghan following the allegations in the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America broadcast today, Mr Scobie was asked if he knew who made the comments about Archie’s skin colour.
Royal author Omid Scobie gave an interview today airing on ABC’s Good Morning America
He said: ‘I know who made the comments about Archie’s skin colour. The names were mentioned in letters between Meghan and Charles that were exchanged some time after the Oprah interview.
Omid Scobie’s new book Endgame about the royal family will be released tomorrow
“We know from sources that Charles was shocked that Meghan felt this way. Those conversations were, and he wanted to be, a kind of representative of the family, having that conversation with her.
“And that’s why I personally think they can move forward with some kind of line of communication after that. Even though they may not agree.”
Scobie’s claims threaten to reignite the “royal racist” row that emerged after Harry and Meghan’s interview.
Meghan had claimed in the TV special that an unnamed member of the royal family talked about “how dark his (Archie’s) skin might be when he’s born.”
But it is now claimed that a second member of the extended royal family – who may not be a member of the royal family themselves – made similar comments.
King Charles III visits St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk yesterday
The two people are not mentioned in Endgame, which is subtitled ‘Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival’.
The book makes a series of claims about the royal family and looks at its future following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September.
And Mr Scobie added to ABC: ‘I think before people assume I’m calling this the end of the Royal Family, I’ll simply state that we’ve reached some sort of pinnacle where the Royal Family as we know it is hanging in the balance .’
He also claims that Prince William is leaking stories about Harry.
Mr Scobie said: ‘He shared private information about his brother which not long later ended up on the front page of a newspaper. These are matters that have caused irreparable damage to mutual relations.’
He described William as a “journeyman” and said: “We have seen the emergence of a man who is much tougher, who seems to have embraced and embodied the royal institution.”
The ABC report also said that Harry is ready to end the rift between William, had tried to reach out to his brother and that the relationship with his father Charles “may be on the mend.”
Mr Scobie said: ‘There is a stable, open line of communication between the two where they can talk to each other. Where Harry, I would say, clearly understands that his father is probably not the most emotional or open person.”
The report on ABC said the interview with Mr Scobie also saw him claim he felt he was embroiled in family drama – and Meghan contacted him to check if everything was okay.
ABC claimed that Mr Scobie also says he is not that close to Harry and Meghan and that he ‘never chose Team Sussex’.
William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak together at Westminster Abbey in March 2019
Meghan, Harry, William and Kate on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018
The interview will be broadcast tomorrow evening on Nachtlijn.
Mr Scobie today tweeted a link to the interview on worldwide release day of #ENDGAME.’
It is said that Mr Scobie’s book makes a series of claims regarding the Sussexes – including that William was involved in ‘things that happened about his own brother’, that the older brother ignored texts from Harry when the family were on the road was to Balmoral. before the late Queen died last year.
The book claims, among other things, that there is a rift between the King and William, that Queen Camilla has ‘quietly thanked’ Piers Morgan for ‘defending the Firm’ and that a timid Princess of Wales should be encouraged to issue orders to feed. .