A new book about the royal family has been taken off shelves in the Netherlands after reports it named the person who allegedly expressed “concerns” about what skin colour Harry and Meghan’s son Archie would have.
Xander, publishers of the Dutch translation of Endgame by the journalist Omid Scobie, have put sales of the book on hold “temporarily” over what it called an “error”.
The Duchess of Sussex claimed in her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that an unnamed member of the royal family raised “concerns” about Archie’s skin colour. Winfrey has subsequently said Harry told her it was not Prince Philip or the late Queen.
Xander said in a statement: “[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified.”
Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, about the Sussexes’ fractious split from the royal family, told Dutch media he did not mention a name in his new book. He told the chatshow RTL Boulevard: “The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, the publisher will correct them. I wrote the English version. There was no version from me in which names were mentioned.”
It appeared, however, that a page taken from an advance review copy of the book, which was sent to Dutch journalists, apparently reveals the royal’s identity, the Daily Mail reported.
Scobie’s book claims that, following the televised interview with Oprah in the US, Meghan wrote a letter to King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, with her concerns about unconscious bias in the royal family.
The alleged letters are said to reveal the identity of two people the duchess claimed had aired “concerns” about the colour of then-unborn Prince Archie’s skin.
“Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were,” Scobie added in the book.
At the time of the allegations, Prince William told reporters: “We are very much not a racist family.”
The royal family said at the time that “whilst some recollections may vary”, the issues brought up in the interview were “concerning” and would “be addressed”.
Scobie, 42, has stressed in pre-publication interviews that he has not interviewed Harry and Meghan for the book, nor is he a friend of the actor. But he told the Times: “I have mutual friends with [Meghan], and that definitely helps with getting information and breaking details.”