In the ongoing controversy surrounding Omid Scobie’s royal biography “Endgame,” the author has now admitted that an early draft of the book included the names of rumored royal racists before final edits removed them.
This admission comes after Scobie previously denied responsibility for the names appearing in the Dutch version of his book, creating confusion over how the unauthorized, unedited text ended up being released.
Omid Scobie lied?
In an opinion piece published by i News, Scobie explained that the Dutch publisher had been provided “early and uncleared text” in order to begin working on their translation of “Endgame,” with the understanding that their version would later be updated to match the final manuscript officially submitted by the author.
“Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and uncleared text was provided to the Dutch publisher in order for them to start work on the translation.”
However, the publisher ultimately released text from this early draft, which included the names of King Charles and Kate Middleton as the senior royals who allegedly raised concerns about Archie’s skin color.
Scobie wrote that while other foreign language publishers were also given preliminary text, the Dutch publisher was the only one that did not perfectly replicate the final submitted work.
He expressed frustration over the situation but said he could be sure that the version he ultimately turned in did not include any names.
The author had previously denied any responsibility for the names appearing in print during interviews with both Dutch and British media.
But his latest admission confirms that an early draft did originally contain the identities of the rumored racists before being removed through careful editing and legal review.
After the names surfaced, the Dutch publisher withdrew Scobie’s book before re-releasing a corrected translation.
Scobie has had to clarify the book’s complicated editing history in an op-ed piece amid intense public scrutiny.