Kate and Charles named in ‘royal racism row’ as Omid Scobie refuses to apologise

King Charles has taken centre stage at the Cop 28 climate conference in Dubai amid a royal racism row at home.

As the publication of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame dominated headlines in the UK, Charles called for global action as he told the heads of states and governments that the dangers of climate change were no longer “distant risks”.

The address came after the monarch was named along with the Princess of Wales as the two senior royals who allegedly raised “concerns” about the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son.

Rishi Sunak praised the King as having been “at the forefront of the fight to protect our planet” for more than 60 years as he posted a picture of himself with Charles at Cop28 on social media.

He said on X, formerly Twitter: “For more than 60 years, His Majesty has been at the forefront of the fight to protect our planet.

“Today at #COP28 we’re committed to safeguarding the environment for generations to come.”

King Charles’ speech today marked his first public appearance since the Dutch edition of Omid Scobie’s Endgame identified himself and the Princess of Wales as the Royals accused of raising questions about Archie’s skin colour before he was born.

The King has not commented on the allegations.

The Princess of Wales dazzled at the Royal Variety Performance last night as she and Prince William brushed off the fallout from the royal race row after the publication of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame.

The Princess and King Charles were both identified in the book as being the royals accused of raising questions about the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son before he was born.

It is their first public appearance since royal reporter Scobie’s book Endgame hit shelves on Tuesday and the palace has not yet commented on the situation.

Royal author Omid Scobie has denied that the naming of royals at the centre of an alleged racism row was a publicity stunt.

He said he did not know how the Dutch translation, which has been pulped by publishers, came to include the names of King Charles and the Princess of Wales.

Mr Scobie told Newsnight that he was “hurt” by “conspiracy theories that this is a publicity stunt”.

It comes following speculation that the names were included in an earlier draft than was translated in the Netherlands.

After King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as being at the centre of a royal racism scandal in new book Endgame, many have asked how could such a mistake be printed?

The author, Omid Scobie, has denied including the names in any version of the manuscript he wrote and edited and has blamed ‘translation errors’.

However, others have speculated the names may have been included in an earlier draft of the book.

The Dutch translator of the book, Saskia Peeters, refuted claims she had added the names of the two royals in the Dutch translation of her own accord and said they were there “in black and white”.

Royal reporter Rick Evers questioned how it is possible to mistranslate a name, and suggested they were included in an earlier manuscript.

He told Good Morning Britain: “There are some debates about how these passages were stated in the book. I would say how could you translate a name wrong?

“I got through the book with a colleague of yours and we saw some passages were missing in the English version. Like a sentence, five sentences between the first and the third part that was in the Dutch version.

“So something has been erased during the work that has been done for the book.”

Royal author Omid Scobie’s book Endgame hit the shelves in the Netherlands accused King Charles and the Princess of Wales of being at the centre of a racism row.

The book was pulped by publishers and Mr Scobie has denied including the names – but what does the passage in question actually say?

According to a translation, page 128 of the manuscript read: “After discussing possible unconscious biases within the family, after it was revealed that the King and Princess of Wales had taken part in such conversations about Archie, Kate has avoided discussing the subject with her sister-in-law.”

Royal author Omid Scobie has refused to apologise for the Dutch version of his book naming two royals in the centre of a racism row.

King Charles and the Princess of Wales were accused of making comments about the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son Archie before he was born.

Mr Scobie denies ever naming the pair in any version of the book he produced. He told Newsnight it was not for him to apologise because he still wanted to know what had happened.

As the royal ‘exposer-in-chief’ Omid Scobie is lambasted for betraying so many private conversations with his gossipy book Endgame, Harry’s biographer Angela Levin asks why has there been no word from the Sussexes?

Mr Scobie says Harry and Meghan had nothing to do with the book, but Angela Levin says the true test to determine whether they were involved will be if they sue the royal author.

Read the full article below:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex first made the claim a royal had asked about their son’s skin colour when they were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

Ms Markle told the US host: “In those months when I was pregnant… we have in tandem the conversation of ‘He won’t be given security. He’s not going to be given a title,’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

Meghan and Harry have refused to name the royal involved, but said it was not the late Queen Elizbabeth II or her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

After Meghan and Harry’s interview with Winfrey was made public, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Noting that “recollections may vary” with regards to the racism allegations put forward by Meghan, they said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.”

King Charles and Rishi Sunak have both avoided addressing the matter of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame while speaking at the Cop28 climate summit.

King Charles was seen for the first time this morning since the book named him and the Princess of Wales as the royals who allegedly made racist comments about Archie’s skin colour before he was born.

Charles said at the opening of the World Climate Action Summit on Friday that despite some progress, “transformational action” was needed as the dangers of climate change are “no longer distant risks”.

He made no mention of the ongoing controversy in his speech.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak also steered clear of commenting on a royal race row as he heaped praise on the King for his involvement in international climate talks.

Asked about the controversy, Mr Sunak told reporters: “By longstanding and appropriate convention it wouldn’t be right for me to talk about the royal family in any way shape or form.”