King Charles's relationship with Harry 'beyond repair' as Palace considers legal action in Archie race row
1 December 2023, 23:36 | Updated: 1 December 2023, 23:45
Prince Harry faces the "end" of his relationship with King Charles as the Palace weighs up legal action after two royals were named in the race row over Archie's skin colour.
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He and his father may be past the point of no return in the wake of 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.
But their identification in the book risks damaging the monarchy and 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.
Read more: Kate fears Christmas showdown if Harry and Meghan 'gatecrash' family celebrations
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.
