King Charles says he’s 'alright… just about' as he brushes off Omid Scobie Endgame row

30 November 2023, 11:13

King Charles today appeared to brush off the row over Omid Scobie’s new book, Endgame as he arrived in Dubai where he will give a speech on climate change.

The King, ahead of his keynote speech at the global climate change conference COP28, shrugged off the storm surrounding the controversial book.

He said: “I'm all right… just about”, when asked how he was doing by Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Referencing his 75th birthday earlier this month, the monarch added: “Having had a rather ancient birthday recently, recovering from the shock of that.”

Scandal around the royal family started to stir after copies of Endgame were pulled from bookshops in the Netherlands.

The Dutch version named a member of the royal family who supposedly “questioned” the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie.

The book's Dutch publisher blamed a translation "error".

Read more: Omid Scobie says he is as 'frustrated as everyone else' after royals in racism storm named in Dutch version of Endgame

King Charles has shrugged off the controversy, instead focusing on the opening of COP28.

He met with Nigeria's President before the conference started to discuss energy, the environment and the Commonwealth.

Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace is said to be today said it was “considering all options” over the royal race row.

One of Britain's leading media lawyers, Mark Stephens, urged the Sussexes to sue Mr Scobie for a privacy breach.

A senior Palace source reportedly said last night it was “vanishingly unlikely” that the “nasty and deliberate attack” came from inside the royal household, according to the Daily Mail.

In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex claimed an unnamed member of the Royal Family had previously questioned the colour of her son’s skin, before he was born.

Ms Winfrey has since clarified the comments were not made by either Prince Philip or the late Queen.

Speaking after copies were pulled from Dutch bookshops, Mr Scobie said he had nothing to do with the error.

"The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, I'm sure the publishers will have it under control," he told Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard.

"I wrote and edited the English version. There's never been no version that I've produced that has names in it."

A spokesperson for Dutch publisher Xander said: "[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified."

Appearing on ITV's This Morning on Thursday, Mr Scobie said he “knew this book would be controversial” and it “obviously goes into areas that often royal correspondents often shy away from”.

In his new book, a passage discusses letters written between Meghan and King Charles in which she is said to have named the person.

The new royal book promises readers an inside view of the British monarchy “in crisis”.

It is sourced from interviews with “Palace aides and courtiers and occasionally Royal Family members themselves”, according to the author. But some commentators have described it as one-sided, with many claiming Mr Scobie is close friends with Harry and Meghan.