Tell-all book delves deep into royal family drama. Here are the best bits

Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

The King’s accession to the throne has sharpened a fierce battle for the spotlight with his son, an inflammatory new book about the royals reveals, as they compete for public approval and battle to secure the future of the monarchy.

Journalist and author Omid Scobie – who rose to prominence after writing Finding Freedom, a breathless and sympathetic story of the rise and fall of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex – has published a new 400-page tell-all on the rest of the family, presenting them as out of touch, competitive and selfish.

Royal mess: A new tell-all book has delivered another blow to the royal family and the new monarch.Credit: Getty Images

The book, Endgame, has claimed Prince William, the next in line to the throne, has made attempts to upstage his father in a bid to “establish himself as his own man” before he becomes king, and because he sees his father’s reign as “transitional”.

Scobie has said he is not friends with either Meghan or Harry and did not interview either of them for the book.

Buckingham Palace has so far declined to comment on the book’s many allegations, some of them highly controversial and potentially defamatory, but has not ruled out doing so in the future. Harry and Meghan have denied any links to the book, rejecting any suggestion that they are “affiliated” to Scobie.

Charles and William fight over monarchy’s future
Scobie writes that the King and the Prince of Wales are locked in “an increasing struggle” as they compete for public approval and fight to secure the future of the monarchy.

William’s impatience to take the top job is said to infuriate his father, who has repeatedly been left seething at perceived attempts to upstage him, the book says.

Prince William and the King are said to be at loggerheads over the future of the monarchy.Credit: Getty

The prince, 42, did not consider the King “competent enough” to properly deal with the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, the book claims, and could not understand why he did not take a hard stance against him sooner.

“Charles’s reluctance baffled William, who didn’t have much confidence in his father to do the right thing anyway,” Scobie writes.

According to the book, William played a big part in the decision to strip Prince Andrew of his royal duties. Scobie claims William felt Queen Elizabeth would go too “soft” on Andrew as Prince Philip was no longer there to “take charge”.

It claims the Queen only decided to strip him of his titles after having an hour-long meeting with William in Windsor.

Camilla irked by ‘vegans, gender identity’
Queen Camilla is painted as particularly anti-woke. It’s reported that her former private home used to feature a “giant blackamoor statue in the entrance hall – a 4ft muscular black man holding a light bulb”. Palace aides say this was removed some years ago.

Camilla is said to roll her eyes when subjects such veganism or gender identity are discussed.

A former aide is quoted as saying: “Even gluten-free or dairy-free options on a restaurant menu irk her.”

Scobie also claims that she thanked former tabloid newspaper editor and TV host Piers Morgan for calling Meghan “Pinocchio Princess” after the duchess had spoken about her mental health.

Queen Camilla and King Charles on an official visit at a food distribution centre in England.Credit: Getty

“[Camilla] will never publicly comment on anything or speak ill of others, but she will always know someone who can do that for her,” a former Palace aide told Scobie.

Kate happy to be ‘shiny thing’ that keeps quiet
The Princess of Wales is a “Stepford-like royal wife” who is content to be a “voiceless symbol”, Scobie claims.

He takes aim at the princess, painting her as a “shiny thing” who can be cold and is prone to copying her sister-in-law’s style with none of her “outgoing nature and leadership potential”.

He writes that the princess was liked by Queen Elizabeth for being “coachable” and “pliable”. Her long-term Early Years project “seemed a shade performative” to the early childhood sector, and that she is “infantilised” by the press and quite unlike “strong-minded Diana”.

Princess Catherine at the King’s coronation.Credit: AP

“She wasn’t a fan” of Meghan since the start, says one aide, while another says: “She spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her.”

These days, Scobie says: “Kate has jokingly shivered when Meghan’s name has come up.”

Charles told royals not to trust ‘that fool’ Harry
Charles allegedly told the royal family to not trust his son, the Duke of Sussex. A source close to the King said that a message was circulated at the behest of Charles that the “family was not to trust him [Harry]”, after the Duke’s memoir Spare was published in January this year, according to Endgame.

The King is also said to have referred to the Duke of Sussex as “that fool” and rejected the chance of a meeting after his younger son made a series of claims against the royal family in the Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan. According to the book, the King ignored Harry’s request for a meeting in March and instructed an assistant to tell him he was “busy” or “overworked”.

The book reports that some in royal circles felt the King could have reached out to Harry earlier during “Megxit”.

“It’s complex, but there’s increasing frustration from some of the wider circle of family members that Charles won’t just fix things for the sake of everyone”, a source told Scobie.

A ‘transitional monarch’
The King knows he is a “transitional monarch” who does not have the same “pulling power” as his late mother, Scobie writes. The book is scathing about the King’s personal abilities, describing him as “indecisive, temperamental, and often in the middle of sticky situations”.

It says his relatively short reign will “never reach the national treasure status” that his mother achieved and that the institution was simply “riding out” these years until the Waleses come to the fore.

Scobie says the King “should have known better” than to express frustration over his malfunctioning fountain pens in the early days of his reign, suggesting that the testy display raised questions about whether he was “up for the job”.

He claims that the King was immediately irked and overwhelmed by the level of work involved with his daily red boxes (which contain government briefings and documents to be signed) and had brought “old habits and coarse practices” to the role.

Princess Anne engineered the Sussexes’ eviction
Scobie claims Princess Anne suggested to Charles at the Sandringham Christmas family gathering last year that he take Frogmore Cottage away from Harry and Meghan.

The Sussexes’ team received a letter from Sir Michael John Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, who stated that, because the Duke and Duchess were no longer working members of the royal family and lived abroad, they should return the keys to Frogmore Cottage – the use of which was a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth.

Scobie writes: “For Charles, the issue of Frogmore Cottage wasn’t just about punishing his son, though sources say that ‘undoubtedly’ played a significant role.

“It was also part of the effort to streamline the portfolio of properties being used by members of the family.”

Harry heard about Queen’s death “via the BBC News app”
Scobie again examines how Harry was excluded from mourning for the Queen.

His privately chartered £30,000 ($57,300) plane from Luton Airport, near London, was still in the air when the Queen’s death was announced. When he landed in Scotland, where the Queen was staying, he “received a text from Meghan urging him to call ASAP followed by a breaking news alert via the BBC News app”.

(From left), Princess Catherine, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan walk to meet the public after the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.Credit: AP

The “walkabout” at which Kate, William, Harry and Meghan met mourners after the Queen’s death was extremely cool between the brothers. Afterwards, William’s team tried to brief that it was his idea, but this was “a grab for positive press”, according to one of Charles’ aides.

Later, Harry had to fight to wear his military uniform at a ceremony, but the shoulder epaulettes were missing the Queen’s “ER” initials.

Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.

Most Viewed in World

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article