Omid Scobie’s controversial new book about the royal family has been taken off shelves in the Netherlands following bombshell reports that it named the person who allegedly voiced “concerns” regarding the potential skin color of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son, Archie.
Xander Publishers confirmed to the Daily Mail that they received a late request from the United States to temporarily halt the sales of “Endgame,” over what it called an “error.” The publishers are currently “awaiting further instructions.” In the original edition of the book, Scobie does not name the royal family member who allegedly voiced “concern” about the potential skin color of Harry and Meghan’s future son, Archie.
Unexpected Error
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During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family expressed “concerns” about the skin color of her son, Archie. Oprah Winfrey later clarified that Prince Harry had told her that it was not Prince Philip or the late Queen who raised such concerns.
Scobie also didn’t mention the person’s name in the original edition of his controversial book. He mentions that libel laws prevented him from revealing the identity of the person who allegedly expressed concerns about Archie’s skin color.
However, he claims that a second person within the royal household also echoed similar remarks.
But a page from a review copy sent to Dutch journalists appears to contain the person’s identity, despite Scobie’s reluctance to name the person in the book due to libel laws.
In letters exchanged between Meghan and the King addressing the issue, it reads: “But in those private letters [the identity] was confirmed: ….” [The name of the personal has been removed].
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The inclusion of the individual’s name in the foreign language version of the book, while absent in other editions, raises questions about whether it was intentionally included or if it is a significant publishing error. The reasons behind this discrepancy are not clear at the moment.
Publisher in Trouble
A spokesman for the Dutch publisher told the Daily Mail, “You are right but I can’t talk about the details. We have, however, received a request to put the title on hold and that is what we have done.”
When asked when that request was received, she explained: “Just now. We are awaiting further instructions. I do not know how long this will be. You should speak to the US agent.”
Meghan first made the claim about “concerns” regarding Archie’s potential skin color in her widely discussed interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. During the interview, she revealed that there were “several conversations” between herself, Prince Harry, and members of the royal family about the potential skin tone of their unborn baby, Archie, before his birth.
Meghan Markle’s revelation about discussions on her son’s potential skin color during the Oprah interview sparked controversy, with many viewers deeming the question as racist. Additionally, she shared that she was told that her son would not receive a royal title and would not be entitled to security.
Following the inquiry from the well-known TV host about whether Meghan believed the concerns were due to her son’s race, the Duchess of Sussex claimed that there were multiple discussions about Archie’s skin.
“About how dark your baby is going to be?” a visibly surprised Winfrey, 69, asked at the time.
While Prince Harry, 39, acknowledged that the discussions about his son were “awkward” and admitted to being “a bit shocked” by them, he vowed to never disclose the identity of the family member involved.
In a January 2023 interview, Prince Harry insisted that neither he nor Meghan had referred to his family as racist.
“[There’s a] difference between racism and unconscious bias,” he said.
The couple, who married in May 2018 and left the royal family less than two years later, have never publicly revealed who made the comments about their son’s skin color though Prince Harry ruled out his late grandparents, the Queen and Prince Philip.
Meghan, on the other hand, identified two people in private letters she exchanged with King Charles III around May 2021, as per Scobie’s book.
Earlier royal biographies had suggested that Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, made comments about Archie’s “complexion” and “ginger Afro hair,” respectively.
