Kate Middleton and Prince William ignore fallout from Omid Scobie race row as they arrive hand-in-hand at the Royal Variety Performance
The Princess of Wales brushed off the fallout from a racing row tonight as she glittered in a stunning dress upon arrival at the Royal Variety Performance.
Kate, 41, paired her stunning dress with an equally dazzling smile as she stepped into Kensington, showing no sign of distress after a turbulent week for the royal family following the release of a bombshell book.
Senior royals in Britain are said to be ‘stunned’ after Piers Morgan revealed the names of two members of The Firm who Omid Scobie said had raised ‘concerns’ about the color of Prince Archie’s skin on his TV show.
The bombshell moment came after the Dutch version of his book Endgame was pulled from the shelves in the Netherlands after it appeared to mention the two royals – something Scobie has attributed to a translation error.
Amid the controversy, the Princess of Wales maintained a ‘business as usual’ attitude as she attended the annual event with Prince William and their guests, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden.
Prince William took his wife’s hand in a display of chivalry as the couple walked the red carpet to attend the Royal Variety Performance
Kate’s stunning teal floor-length dress featured flared sleeves and was paired with diamond jewelry. She wore her thick dark brown locks in curls.
Meanwhile, Prince William looked sharp in a black tuxedo, acting like the perfect gentleman as he extended his hand to his wife as they made their way down the red carpet.
The British royal family will no doubt be hoping that an evening of entertainment at the Royal Albert Hall, with performances from Rick Astley, Zara Larsson and music icon Cher, will distract from an awkward week in which a 2021 controversy has resurfaced in Scobie’s book.
During Harry and Meghan’s sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, allegations emerged for the first time that a member of the royal family had “concerns” about the color of Prince Archie’s skin in 2021.
The Prince and Princess of Wales beamed and waved away any sense of the controversy engulfing the royal family following the race row reignited by Omid Scobie’s book
The Prince and Princess of Wales displayed a ‘business-as-usual’ attitude as they attended the Royal Variety Performance 2023, amid an ever-deepening racing row sparked again by Omid Scobie
Kate, 41, opted for natural makeup with a touch of eyeliner, a nude lip, some blusher and bronzer
Pricne William, ever the gentleman, took Kate’s hand as she walked onto the red carpet to enter the Royal Albert Hall
The princess’s beautiful teal dress featured a gem-encrusted high neckline and striking padded shoulders
Kate and William looked like the perfect couple as they arrived on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall
Prince William held his wife’s hand as she stepped onto the red carpet in a friendly gesture
The Pricne of Wales took his wife’s hand as they walked down the red carpet into the Royal Albert Hall
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel were guests of Kate and William tonight
Crown Princess Victoria opted for a striking black dress with a scarf and a feather texture as she arrived with Prince Daniel
The Swedish royals brought glamor to South Kensington as they arrived at this year’s event
Kate looked elegant despite what was likely a bitterly cold gust of wind as she braved the freezing temperatures
The Princess of Wales stunned in a teal dress with flared sleeves as she arrived at the Royal Albert Hall for the Royal Variety Performance this evening
The princess looked elegant in the floor-length dress and beamed as she stepped out of the car upon arrival
Mum-of-three Kate, 41, teamed her dress with dazzling accessories to attend the Royal Variety Performance
Meghan, who was pregnant with Princess Lilibet at the time, told the veteran broadcaster that there had been “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be.”
She added that the conversations had taken place between Prince Harry and members of his family, but declined to name the person or persons in question because she believed “it would be very damaging to them.”
Harry added later in the same interview: ‘That conversation… I’m never going to share that.’
In another sit-down interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby earlier this year, while promoting his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex claimed he and Meghan never said his family was “racist” in relation to these alleged conversations.
Instead, he said his relatives had shown “unconscious bias.”
As the fallout from the book continues, Omid Scobie today appeared on ITV’s This Morning, where he claimed he was ‘as frustrated as everyone else’ about the controversy surrounding the Dutch translation of the book.
He told presenters that he did not mention the names of the two royals accused of discussing the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie when he submitted the completed manuscript to his publisher.
However, Saskia Peeters, who translated the book from English into Dutch, told MailOnline today: ‘As a translator I translate what is in front of me.
‘The names of the royals were there in black and white. I didn’t add them.
‘I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English to Dutch.’
When the book’s author, Scobie, denied the names were in his manuscript, Ms. Peters said: ‘I don’t know why he would say that.
‘I have been translating for years. This is the first time something like this has happened.
‘This is not something I wanted to be involved in. This was disturbing. I don’t want to talk about it much anymore.’