Harry and Meghan urged to support Charles and royals amid Archie racism row, as Boris Johnson weighs in
2 December 2023, 10:18
Harry and Megan have been urged to give their public backing to the rest of the royal family after two members were named in the race row over their son Archie's skin colour.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not broken their silence since the controversy of Omid Scobie's book Endgame.
The title, which contains a raft of serious claims against the monarchy, was printed in the Netherlands with two royals identified as those who asked Meghan about her son Archie's skin colour.
The copies were recalled and pulped as Mr Scobie blamed a translation error. The royal author, often said to be close to the Sussexes, has denied Meghan was behind the leaks and claimed the two royals were identified in a letter she sent to the King.
Read more: Kate fears Christmas showdown if Harry and Meghan 'gatecrash' family celebrations
But their identification in the book risks damaging the monarchy. Sources close to the royals said: "For the couple that talked about ‘death by a thousand no comments’, the silence at this point is deafening," the Telegraph reported.
Others close to the Sussexes pointed out that they have never themselves called any royals themselves racist.
It came as some publicly defended the royals amid the accusations. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the alleged comments were "not remotely racist".
Sir Trevor Phillips, the former head of the Commission for Racial Equality, called it a "nonsense story".
But the revelations could end any chance of Harry mending relations with the King - who is speaking to his top advisers next week to discuss the next steps.
"This could not have come at a worse moment in Charles's career," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun as the King opened the Cop28 climate talks with a speech in Dubai.
"Charles and Harry's relationship was at an all-time low before but this may have fractured it beyond all repair.
"It could spell the end game for them."
That is despite Harry having called the King to wish him a happy birthday and sent him a video of Archie, aged four, and Lilibet, two.
They were reportedly due to chat again over the phone.
King Charles will meet with senior advisers next week, after returning from Cop28.
The Mail reported they are "greatly encouraged" by the public's reaction to Mr Scobie's claims, detecting sympathy to the Palace. They are said to be "considering all options".
Mr Scobie has said an investigation into how the names were printed is under way, but refused to apologise, saying he was unsure what happened.
"I am as frustrated as everyone else," he said after the furore over the Dutch language copies erupted.
"The book I wrote, the book I edited, the book I signed off on, did not have names in it."
Sources close to the Sussexes say Meghan did not leak the names of the two royals to Scobie and "never intended them to be publicly identified".
The Palace is also investigating to ensure it could not have leaked from within, but sources have said the letter is locked away and only a "tiny handful" of people ever saw it.
