Omid Scobie makes a shocking Endgame reveal

Endgame author broke his silence on how two royals were accidentally named in the Dutch version, confirming it was not a ‘translation’ error.

Author Omid Scobie broke his silence on how King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were accidentally named in the Dutch version of Endgame.

In an op-ed published in UK media, Scobie confirmed that their inclusion wasn’t a “translation” error but rather the result of an early, unapproved manuscript being sent to publishers before the names were removed for the final version, based on “watertight” legal advice.

The stunning revelation follows reports that Scobie’s talent agency sent the early, unapproved version of Endgame, which directly and indirectly implicated the King and princess as expressing “concerns” over the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first child.

“Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and uncleared text was provided to the Dutch publisher in order for them to start work on the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book I officially submitted,” Scobie wrote for iNews.

“Other foreign-language publishers, including in France and Italy, were also doing the same thing, though their versions perfectly replicated the completed work.

“What I can be sure of is that I edited carefully, took independent legal advice, and the finished book that I submitted was not the version published in the Netherlands.”

The comments appear to contradict earlier claims by Scobie that the two names were never included in the English version, which he repeated in an interview with the BBC.

“It’s not for me to apologise because I still want to know what has happened,” Scobie said, swearing on his life and the life of his family that the names were included as a publicity stunt.

“Ultimately to write the names, it’s a show and tell situation. There’s no ability to show, so there was never an attempt to name.”

It is understood that Scobie’s representatives at United Talent Agency (UTA) sent the final approved version, with the names removed, to Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers weeks before the release.

British broadcaster Piers Morgan became the first in the UK media to name King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, after they were directly and indirectly implicated in the 5,000 copies printed in the Netherlands.

Endgame author Omid Scobie appears on This Morning in Britain. Picture: ITV

He was followed in English-language media including the BBC, The Guardian, ITV and Sky News, The New York Post, and The New York Times.

Saskia Peeters, one of the two translators credited with the Dutch translation, disputed initial claims that the inclusion of the two names was a “translation error”.

“The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them,” she told MailOnline. “I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English into Dutch.”

Explaining the disconnect between his early comments over translation issues and the clarification that the names came from an early, unapproved version, Scobie said he did not have “the full story” as details were being pieced together while he jetted between New York and London on a series of media interviews to promote the book.

“Still confused about what had happened, and unable to keep an eye on the unfolding story during my back-to-back press appearances, I was at the very least relieved to see the Netherlands publisher swiftly announce that copies containing what they described as a “translation error” would be removed from stores,” he said.

“To be clear, the only publisher I worked directly with was the one covering the US and UK. I spent almost two months with independent British barristers and in-house legal counsel to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight.”