New detail rocks royal race row as fresh claims emerge

New claims appear to contradict author Omid Scobie’s claim that his book never included the names of two royals involved in a race row.

Omid Scobie’s agent sent a draft manuscript to a translator of his tell-all royal book Endgame which named the two royals involved in the race row, according to new reports in The Times.

In his controversial new book ‘Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival’, Mr Scobie wrote that Meghan Markle named two people - who allegedly talked about her son’s skin colour - in private letters she exchanged with King Charles in May 2021.

Buckingham Palace is considering its next move after the book accidentally named two royals who allegedly discussed the skin colour of Prince Harry's son. Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP.

While those people were meant to remain anonymous, the Dutch version of the book revealed their identities to be King Charles himself and Kate Middleton.

While Mr Scobie has claimed he “never submitted a book that had those names in it”, it’s now been claimed that the translator who worked on the Dutch version was in fact sent a draft version of the book that included the identities of the royals.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been at the centre of many royal rows. Picture: Instagram

A source told The Times that United Talent Agency had sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers which contained the names.

Dutch translator Saskia Peeters insisted last week that she simply “translated what was in front of her”.

Speaking to MailOnline, she said: “As a translator, I translate what is in front of me. The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English into Dutch.”

Mr Scobie has refused to apologise for the incident, insisting that the blame does not lie with him.

“It’s not for me to apologise because I still want to know what’s happened,” he said during a TV appearance in the UK.

“The buck doesn’t stop with me because there are irresponsible people in this country who’ve broken the law and repeated names that should never have been repeated, should never have been named. The book I edited and signed off on did not have names in it.”

Mr Scobie also appeared on television in the Netherlands to deny he included the names of the alleged “royal racists” in any edition of his bombshell book including drafts. “There’s never been a version that I’ve produced that has names in it,” he told the RTL Boulevard show. “The book’s available in a number of languages and unfortunately I can’t speak Dutch, so I haven’t seen the copy for myself, so if there have been any translation errors I’m sure the publisher’s got it under control.”

Endgame author Omid Scobie appeared on This Morning in Britain last week where he refused to apologise. Picture from ITV.

It comes amid reports that the royal family could take legal action over the claims, with a royal source telling AFP last week that they are “considering all options”.

However, some legal experts cast doubt on the notion of the royals suing for defamation, not least because the names would have to be formally made public.

Piers Morgan revealed the names on his show Uncensored, explaining to his viewers that although he doesn’t “believe any racist comments were ever made by any of the royal family,” he felt that his fellow citizens had a right to know information that only a handful of readers from another country were inadvertently privy to.

“Frankly, if Dutch people wandering into a bookshop can pick it up and see these names, then you — the British people here, who actually pay for the British royal family — you’re entitled to know, too,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Scobie, who previously co-wrote a soft-soap biography of Harry and Meghan, has said the names were not needed for his new book, which looks at the future for the royal family.

Harry and Meghan, who quit royal life in 2020 and moved to North America, first mentioned the alleged skin colour comment in a March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

They have since denied accusing the family of racism and instead implied they had an “unconscious bias”.

Originally published as New detail rocks royal race row as fresh claims emerge