- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been trying to mend fences
- But the latest row has made the situation even worse, says Richard Eden
- Don’t miss our brilliant new podcast, The Crown: Fact or Fiction with Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone. Listen now on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts
Omid Scobie’s new book about the royals may be inaccurate and toxic, but the real blame for the lurid speculation about “racism” lies with Harry and Meghan.
That is the view of Richard Eden, writing in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter.
‘There should be no doubt about who is really responsible for the explosive new controversy over the identity of the “royal racists,” he says.
‘It was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who caused the frenzy in their embarrassing interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.’
Omid Scobie has been criticized for the toxic content of his new book. But the real blame lies elsewhere, writes Richard Eden
Scobie arrives at ITV Studios ahead of today’s broadcast promoting his new book
Harry and Meghan touring Australia in their pre-‘Megxit’ days
Once Meghan set the ‘royal racists’ hare running in her interview with Oprah, the result was inevitable, writes Eden
Eden believes there was never any doubt about the outcome after Meghan decided to claim – in front of an audience of millions – that “concerns” had been raised by members of the royal family about the likely color of her unborn child’s skin.
‘This was then clarified by their friend Gayle King, who made it clear they were not talking about Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip.
“Omid Scobie has rightly received a lot of criticism for his poorly written, inaccurate and toxic new book about the royal family, Endgame, released on Tuesday,” he wrote.
“Now that I’ve done my duty and read part of the bloated tome, I plan to ask my local bookstore to move it from the biography section to the fiction section.”
But, he continues, ‘the identification of the two royals, as happened in the first Dutch editions of Scobie’s book, was the inevitable result of Harry and Meghan’s appalling lack of judgment two years ago.
The so-called royal racists appeared to have been mentioned in a Dutch translation of the book that has now been withdrawn from sale
Richard Eden says the Sussexes have only themselves to blame for an outbreak of unfair speculation they might have preferred to avoid
“I’m guessing they’re probably almost as annoyed with Scobie now as the rest of the royal family.
‘In recent weeks the Sussexes had been desperately trying to resolve their row with King Charles, calling him on his birthday and dropping hints to friends about how they would like to be invited to Sandringham for Christmas.
“From what I’ve heard, any invitation that might have been there will now be withdrawn.”
To read more of Richard’s expert Royal commentary, click here