William and Kate all smiles on red carpet as royals brush aside storm around Omid Scobie's book Endgame

30 November 2023, 19:35

William and Kate beamed as they arrived at the Royal Variety Performance - ignoring explosive claims launched their way in Omid Scobie's new book Endgame.

Kate wore a Safiyaa gown as she joined William, dressed in a tuxedo, on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall.

They gave no indication of frustration or upset despite the storm around the book.

Nor has King Charles, who is in the Middle East for Cop28.

Scobie, who is thought to be close to Harry and Meghan, has made a raft of claims in it - and one passage has sparked a royal race row.

He has repeated Meghan's claim - initially raised during Oprah Winfrey's interview post-Megxit - that one royal asked about her son Archie's skin colour. He now claims a second person in the household echoed the remarks.

But he has refused to name them, citing libel laws - despite Endgame having to be recalled in the Netherlands as it was initially published with two names in that part of the book.

Copies had to be withdrawn and pulped as he blamed a translation error, and insisted it was not a stunt.

"I knew this book would be controversial, whether it's about race or the Palace's relationship with the press. I never expected it to be presented fairly," he told ITV's This Morning.

"I'm not their friend. I've never sat down with Meghan or shared information with her.

"I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers.

"I'm as frustrated as everyone else."

He added: "I never submitted a book that had those names in it."

But a Dutch translator who worked on the book has claimed the two names were in a manuscript she was sent.

Saskia Peeters, from Arnhem, told MailOnline: "The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them.

"I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English into Dutch."

She added: "This is not something I wanted to be involved in. This has been upsetting."

The Palace has not directly responded to claims in Endgame, which include allegations that a rift is growing between William, who is portrayed as power-hungry, and King Charles.

Scobie has claimed the King warned other royals not to trust Harry, and branded him a "fool" when the Netflix series Harry and Meghan came out.

It is also claimed Harry was "kept in the dark" as his grandmother died, with William failing to reply to his text asking how he planned to go to Balmoral to see her.

Royals are said to be "dismayed" but nothing official has been published in response.

William and Kate showed no suggestion they were about to break their silence.

They were due to take in an evening with of performances from hit musicians, including Cher and Zara Larsson after walking the red carpet on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, the King is in the United Arab Emirates for UN climate get-together Cop28.