Omid Scobie's agent 'sent Dutch translators manuscript containing royals' names' in Archie race row
4 December 2023, 06:56
Omid Scobie's agent sent a draft of Endgame to his Dutch publisher that named two royals in the Archie race row, it has been claimed.
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United Talent Agency (UTA) then sent a final version, weeks before it was due to be published, that omitted their names, The Times reported.
A translator then worked on the draft instead of the final version, it is understood.
Thousands of copies of Endgame had to be withdrawn in the Netherlands after they contained the names of two royals alleged to have speculated about Archie's skin colour.
Meghan was pregnant with the prince at the time the remarks were said to have been made.
She had told Oprah Winfrey a royal asked about it during her and Harry's interview in 2021, and since then Mr Scobie - a royal author often thought to be relatively close to the Sussexes - has repeated the claim.
He also alleges a second royal is identified thanks to a letter Meghan sent to Charles, though how that leaked to him is unclear.
Meghan has denied telling him the names and the Palace insists the letter is stored away under lock and key.
Xander previously suggested the names were printed in the Dutch version of Endgame after a translation error, while Mr Scobie insists he never sent a book out containing the alleged identities.
Saskia Peeters, one of the Dutch translators, said she worked on "what is in front of me" and did not add the names.
The King is due to speak to his top advisers this week after returning from the Cop28 climate talks.
Legal action is among the options believed to be on the table.
He and other royals have not formally responded to the book, though Queen Elizabeth did previously say "recollections may vary" in response to the Oprah controversy.
Endgame has generated its own storm, and contains a series of explosive claims about the family.
Among them are allegations of a rift opening between William, who is portrayed as power hungry, and the King, and an accusation Harry was left in the dark when the late Queen died.
A new wave of fury has been unleashed at the Sussexes by supporters of the royals. Bob Seely, the Isle of Wight MP, wants MPs to amend a 1917 Act of Parliament that would strip Harry and Meghan of their titles.
"I'm not a republican and support the monarchy, but after the latest instalment of the couple's feud with the rest of the royal family, I believe that parliament and the privy council should consider a nuclear option," he told The Mail on Sunday.
"The duke and duchess can be Mr and Mrs like the rest of us."
