Family turmoil, broken relationships, and whatever "the Cambridge way" means. Omid Scobie's book "Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival" is out today and already creating a stir.
ADVERTISEMENTThis year has been a tumultuous one for the British royal family, with the release of Prince Harry’s memoir "Spare" to kickstart 2023. Now, as if to (literally) bookend the year, a controversial book about comes out today (Tuesday 28 November) and it is already proving controversial.
The book "Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival", by journalist Omid Scobie, takes a deep dive into the institution and its future, and "pull(s) back the curtain on an institution in turmoil".
Even if a lot of the turmoil is already known, leaked or streamed.
"Endgame" criticises King Charles III and his son, William, who is described as a "power-hungry heir to the throne", and depicts the king as head of an institution "plagued by incidents involving antiquated ideas around race, class and money", with younger people increasingly unsympathetic to the monarchy.
The main revelations depict a rather pathetic soap opera, in which William is painted as an ambitious prince, determined to lead the royal family into the future, with Scobie claiming that he wants to “rip up” the rulebook and do things “the Cambridge way”.
The “Cambridge way” does not clarify whether he would have his shoelaces ironed like this father, as the book shares.
Despite not agreeing about how The Firm should be run, Scobie writes that William and Charles are united in their frustration towards Prince Harry – or “that fool” according to the king. The British journalist also believes the relationship between William and Harry is unlikely to be mended. He claims William believes Harry blindsided the family with their public complaints and that William is convinced his younger brother is being brainwashed by an “army of therapists”.
According to excerpts from the book, Prince Harry heard of the Queen’s death from the BBC website rather than his family, and that William “ignored his brother” and Harry was “left completely by himself” after Queen’s death.
It also mentions how Harry and Meghan were left “confused and upset” with the lack of contact after two royals made comments about their child's skin tone.
Indeed, the royal family became embroiled in a race row over Harry and Meghan’s son, and no one except Charles is said to have addressed the alleged conversation about Prince Archie’s skin colour. The incident was mentioned by Harry and Meghan when they sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Neither Kate nor William have reached out to the Sussexes about the matter: “The silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset.”
The book goes on to claim that relationship between Kate and Meghan is frosty, to say the least, stating that that they were never close and that “waity Katie” is “cold”.
Most damningly of all though, the book shares that Taylor Swift reportedly turned down an offer to perform at the King's Coronation on 6 May.
Good for you, TayTay.
Predictably, Buckingham and Kensington Palace are not commenting on the book, and representatives of Harry and Meghan also have not commented on the book's claims of palace intrigue.
The book comes out when recent YouGov poll suggests that 59% of people think the King is "doing a good job", with 17% saying he is "doing a bad job". Others are undecided.
"Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival" by Omid Scobie is released today.
