The reunion of the ‘fab four’ royals during a walk in Windsor the day after Queen Elizabeth’s death was preceded by a silent car ride, a royal book has claimed.
Endgame, by royal biographer Omid Scobie, reveals how the September 9, 2022, appearance of Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Windsor Estate was orchestrated by Welsh press secretary Lee Thompson to ‘keep up appearances’.
In an interview with Paris competition Magazine, which also appears to have serialized part of the book, the royal author shares what he believes happened behind the scenes that day.
An extract from Endgame, to be published on Tuesday, November 28, claims that the ‘silence was palpable’ during the 150-second car journey from their homes to the Long Walk, which he says ‘must have taken forever’.
In particular, he drew attention to “the lack of communication between Meghan and Kate,” as well as the tension between Prince Harry and Prince William.
The Princess of Wales ‘shudders and giggles’ when she hears Meghan Markle’s name, a new royal book claims. Both pictured in 2018
It follows Prince Harry’s own account in Spare, which revealed Meghan had a strained relationship with his sister-in-law.
The rift between them was laid bare when the Duke of Sussex released his sensational tell-all memoir last year, in which he wrote in extraordinary detail about how the women were both left in tears during the infamous bridesmaids’ dress row.
He also described a disagreement over a shared lip gloss – and how Kate was hurt by Meghan’s comments about her ‘baby brain’ during pregnancy.
Elsewhere, Harry revealed how the Waleses became annoyed when the Sussexes didn’t buy their family Easter gifts.
Endgame will also deal with allegations of race and bigotry within the royal family.
Scobie, who wrote a biography of the couple Finding Freedom in 2020, unveiled the cover of his latest project this month, calling it “a probing investigation into the current state of the British monarchy.”
One chapter will be called ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’ and will likely address allegations of racism within the Firm.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex told US TV presenter Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed member of the royal family had wondered what skin color their son Archie, not yet born at the time, was likely to have.
Palace officials have said they are unlikely to comment on the book, but told The Mail on Sunday that any allegations of racism will be ‘strongly refuted’.
The Sussexes repeatedly denied working with Scobie and his co-author Carolyn Durand on Finding Freedom, but Meghan was later forced to admit in the High Court that she had authorized an assistant to secretly brief the couple.
Scobie, 42, the royal editor-in-chief of Yahoo! News until July this year also has sgot a taste of what readers can expect from the book in a photo of his work posted to X/Twitter.
The front features three royal couples; King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Prince Harry and Meghan. Promotional material for the new book has already labeled Prince William as ‘power hungry’ and Charles as ‘unpopular’.
A source told The Mail earlier this month: ‘I’m told this is bad, very bad. It is unlikely that royal aides will comment, but if there are allegations of racism they will of course be strongly refuted.”
Endgame is likely to cause even more unrest at Buckingham Palace. Although the author boasts of interviewing family members, sources close to the Sussexes have previously distanced them from the book, telling MailOnline they had nothing to do with it.
The book, subtitled ‘Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival’, is billed as an ‘explosive’ look at the events surrounding the Queen’s death.
Amazon’s sales pitch states: “The death of Queen Elizabeth II has torn the already broken foundations of the House of Windsor – and dismantled the protective shield around it.”
Scobie claims to have interviewed “current and former palace staff, trusted friends of the Royals and even the family members themselves.”
It was due to be published in August, but the date was postponed due to events surrounding the coronation.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex told US TV presenter Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed member of the royal family had wondered what skin color their son Archie, not yet born at the time, was likely to have.
In Spare, Harry described a disagreement over a shared lip gloss – and how Kate was hurt by Meghan’s comments about her ‘baby brain’ during pregnancy. Kate pictured earlier this month
Palace officials have said they are unlikely to comment on the book, but told The Mail on Sunday that any allegations of racism will be ‘strongly refuted’. Meghan photographed earlier this month
A publishing source in America told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The rumor is this is going to be bomb after bomb. Some even speculate that it could be the name of the person who wondered what color Archie’s skin would be.
‘Everyone knows Omid is the Sussexes’ unofficial mouthpiece, so it’s fair to say there will be huge interest in this book on both sides of the Atlantic.’
Chapter titles include: ‘Shaky Ground: The Queen is Dead, the Monarchy Faces Trouble’; ‘The Fall of Prince Andrew: Scandal, Shame, and the Silencing of Jane Doe’; ‘Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial’; ‘Gloves On: Prince William, Heir to the Throne’; and ‘Gloves off: Prince Harry, man on a mission’.
Publisher HarperCollins has previously said the book will ‘get the world talking’, and Scobie has warned it will reveal moments the Royals should be ‘ashamed of’.
In Finding Freedom, Scobie wrote in detail about Meghan and Harry’s first night together, recounting what appeared to be verbatim conversations between the Sussexes and senior royals.
He remains a favorite journalist for the Sussexes and is often the first to post information about their charity efforts and awards on social media.