After distancing himself from claims of being friends with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Omid Scobie lifted the lid on sharing a hug with the Duchess of Sussex.
The journalist recently released an explosive book titled Endgame, which was billed as a “penetrative investigation into the parlous state of the modern Royal Family.”
It was also said to provide a “unique insight” into the “monarchy’s fight for survival,” which many have claimed to come from his “bond” with Meghan.
After working as a celebrity and entertainment reporter, the author shifted to royalty when Prince Harry and Meghan began dating in 2016.
Omid previously told The Times he was eager to get to know them personally: “I was going to work my damn hardest to make sure I was close to every single person in their lives.
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“And become someone that, at the very least, people at the palace feel they can come to when they need to correct a story.”
His efforts seemingly paid off, as Omid became just one of three journalists invited to cover Meghan’s last engagement as a working royal in 2020.
Which took place hours before she flew to Canada to start a new chapter in North America.
According to his Harper’s Bazaar story, the pair shared a “goodbye hug,” as “the emotions” of the imminent departure “finally set in”.
Following the release of his co-authored bombshell 2020 book, Finding Freedom, Omid was labelled a “mouthpiece” for Harry and Meghan after it unearthed major revelations about the couple.
This included the fact that Sussex’s had been engaged long before it was publicly revealed.
As well as how Meghan had no intentions of giving birth in Paddington’s St Mary’s Hospital, where the royal babies were traditionally born.
However, Omid fervently denied being close to the former working royals, as he took X ahead of Endgame’s release and posted: “I’m not ‘Meg’s pal’.”
During an interview with Paris Match, he echoed “I am not their friend and never have been.”
The 42-year-old claimed he said he did not interview Meghan for either of his books, but the fact he shares mutual friends with her helped with sourcing information.