Any new book about the fractured British royal family is bound to attract scrutiny, but none has generated controversy quite like “Endgame,” a new book by longtime royal reporter Omid Scobie.
The dispute centers on a Dutch-language translation of “Endgame,” which reportedly named King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, as the family members who asked Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, about the skin color of the couple’s first child, Archie, before his birth.
The couple said in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that when Meghan was pregnant with Archie, members of the royal family had raised “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” a shocking allegation that underscored to many the ingrained racism within the institution. When pressed by Winfrey about who specifically raised those concerns, Meghan declined to name names, saying it would be “very damaging to them.”
This led to intense speculation as to who was behind those conversations. In the English version of Scobie’s book, released Tuesday, he wrote that two people raised the question but omitted their names for legal reasons, the BBC reported. The Dutch version, however, names them as the king and the Princess of Wales, according to British media.
The dispute over the Dutch version of “Endgame” has brought renewed focus to Harry and Meghan’s allegations against the royal family — allegations that were considered deeply damaging to its reputation and to the relationship between the couple and the family even before specific individuals were attached.
NBC News has not independently verified that a conversation about Archie’s skin color took place, nor has it reviewed a copy of the book’s Dutch edition. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have not publicly commented on the controversy around the book. Harry and Meghan, too, have not issued a comment.
Scobie has denied including any names in his book, and he told the BBC that he does not know how Charles’ and Catherine’s names appeared in the Dutch translation. He also denied that the controversy is a publicity stunt.
The Dutch translator, however, said the names “were there in black and white” on the manuscript. “I did not add them,” translator Saskia Peeters told MailOnline. “I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English into Dutch.”
Meanwhile, Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers has pulled the book from shelves in the Netherlands, citing a “translation error” and promising a “rectified” version to be released on Dec. 8.
