Endgame, the title of the new controversial royal book by Omid Scobie, who’s also behind another contentious royal biography that describes the lives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is now facing a huge controversy. After the book’s Dutch translation appeared to have dropped the name of the royal who allegedly questioned the skin color of the Sussexes’ first child, Prince Archie, it was pulled from the shelves in the Netherlands. So, what happened?
Omid Scobie’s Endgame Halts Sales in the Netherlands
Xander, the publisher of the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s now controversial book about the royal family, has stopped the sales of Endgame in the Netherlands due to what it calls an “error.” However, the book’s removal from the shelves is said to be only “temporary,” so there’s a big chance that it will be put on sale again.
“[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified,” it said in a statement via Sky News.
The publishers of the (now pulled) Dutch version of Omid Scobie’s Endgame blame a translation “error”, after copies appeared to name one of the so-called ‘royal racists’.
It’s unclear how the name was added, which presumably was translated from the original English text. pic.twitter.com/SD5DiibD3q
— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) November 28, 2023
“I can’t talk about the details. We have, however, received a request to put the title on hold and that is what we have done,” a spokesperson for the publishing house told the Daily Mail. “We are awaiting further instructions. I do not know how long this will be.”
An early copy of Endgame sent to Dutch journalists confirmed it included the mysterious royal’s identity. At the same time, media members who viewed the book told Page Six it differed from the previous claims that the royal biographies released last year.
The withdrawal comes amid the news that the Dutch translation of Endgame dropped the name of the royal family member who allegedly wondered what the color of Archie’s skin would be before he was born.
For starters, in Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, she revealed that a royal raised “concerns” about the color of Archie’s skin. Though the couple refused to tell who said such a thing among the royal family members, Winfrey claimed Prince Harry assured her it wasn’t the late Prince Philip or Queen Elizabeth II.
Omid Scobie's new book Endgame is released today and we need to protect him because he calls sh*t out and people don't like that.
We've been friends for many, many years and @scobie is one of the most kind and genuine people I know.
He really doesn't deserve the abuse he gets ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ywCVASXOCN— Lorraine King (@lorrainemking) November 28, 2023
David Scobie Denies Involvement in Revealing Royal Family Member’s Name in Dutch Version of Endgame
The author of Endame himself, Omid Scobie, denied involvement in the revelation of the royal family member’s name in the Dutch version of Endgame.
In the Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard, he said the book is in several languages, and he doesn’t speak Dutch.
“But if there are translation errors, I’m sure the publishers will have it under control,” he said. “I wrote and edited the English version. There’s never been no version that I’ve produced that has names in it.”
In a different interview with Vanity Fair, the royal biographer also stressed that Endgame isn’t about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle like his previous book, Finding Freedom.
https://twitter.com/soproudofher/status/1729621589438706003
“This is not Finding Freedom part two,” he said. “It’s a really important look at the current state of the British royal family written in a way I don’t think anyone has ever done before at a time when I think is more important than ever.”
Scobie hoped this kind of dialogue would be embraced instead of being ignored or rejected, as he strongly believed it would lead to “better things.”
He explained:
Britain is changing at a rate the royal family could never understand because it is a slow-moving institution and it is not a reactive institution. It puts them in a very different time to what they’ve known in the past, but they are confronting the issues that are raised in front of them, such as race issues, slavery in the past, the relationship with the press, the darker things that go on behind the scenes with the treatment of family members. These things that can all be addressed and improved on and worked on moving forward.
Omid Scobie has proven that his books about the royal family are often controversial. However, the controversy Endgame faces today is probably just an honest mistake that can still be corrected. The Netherlands’ book lovers will still have a chance to read it when everything’s good and well.
