Omid Scobie’s Endgame book: King Charles and Prince William in ‘increasing struggle’
King Charles and Prince William’s PR departments are at pains to suggest they are in “lock-step” but the explosive new book, Endgame, suggests they have increasingly competing agendas.
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The royals are a bitterly divided family, with King Charles and Prince William “playing out an increasing struggle between father and son in front of a global audience,” journalist Omid Scobie has alleged in his explosive new book, Endgame.
While the book revisits many of the royal scandals of the past few years, Scobie’s allegations about the competing agendas of the King and his direct heir are new, and are sure to divide opinions among readers.
Prince William “knows his father’s reign is little more than transitional, if only by virtue of the King’s age, and is acting accordingly,” Scobie quotes an unnamed royal insider as saying.
William “doesn’t think his father is competent enough,” another source states. “Though they share passions and interests, their style of leadership is completely different.”
Buckingham Palace (Charles’s domain) and Kensington Palace (William’s) are “now hives of competing agendas and different ideas about how to modernise,” Scobie writes.
While the PR departments of both palaces are at pains to suggest King Charles and Prince Williams are in “lock-step” on their approach to many issues, the book suggests this is in fact not the case.
While Buckingham Palace fumbled over its response to racially insensitive comments made by the Queen’s former lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey at a public event, Scobie writes, Kensington Palace was unequivocal, with a spokesperson denouncing the comments as “unacceptable” and saying it was “right” Lady Hussey has “stepped aside”.
The King and the Prince are also divided over the fate of the scandal-plagued Prince Andrew, Scobie alleges. While the King is “weak-kneed” over his brother, it was actually Prince William who “encouraged the Queen and Charles to strip the disgraced Duke of York” of his titles, according to Scobie’s (once again unnamed) sources.
“Someone needed to be the firm hand in that situation, and he felt the family (was) being too soft,” Scobie quotes a source close to the prince.
“William took the initiative when others suffered from inertia,” Scobie writes.
But Charles and William are united when it comes to Harry and Meghan, the book reveals.
William and Charles have been “united in their frustrations with Harry” but they have different visions for how the establishment will run, Scobie wqrites.
And the entire Firm closed ranks when it came to Meghan after she started airing grievances against the family.
“(I)nstead of helping her when she needed it most, the Palace discounted her trauma,” Scobie writes.
Endgame repeats an accusation that Prince Harry made in his memoir Spare, that Charles “has been known to turn a blind eye while aides leak details about his sons to the press,” but adds a few new allegations of its own.
The King has reportedly been bothered by the favourable media attention surrounding William’s sponsorship of the Earthshot Prize; Scobie quotes a source who says it’s as if the King’s own longstanding environmentalism “doesn’t exist”.
And when the Prince of Wales’ visit to Belize and Jamaica hit turbulence regarding questions over Britain’s colonial past, Scobie claims that Charles “allegedly derived some schadenfreude from his son’s recent missteps and public humiliation”.
But William doesn’t escape criticism.
Scobie alleges the Prince ignored the King’s advice over the Belize and Jamaica trip, reportedly “letting bravado obscure his judgment”.
And after the King’s first Trooping the Colour event, press attention is minimal after William grants a rare one-on-one interview to the Sunday Times – “essentially wiping any coverage of the special moment off the front page,” Scobie writes.
Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival by Omid Scobie, published by HQ, is on sale November 29. Available at booktopia
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