The Duchess of Sussex personally rang royal biographer Omid Scobie after learning he had been harassed online, he is to claim in a new book, while insisting he is not her “pal”.
The Duchess unexpectedly called Scobie, then a journalist for Harper’s Bazaar, on his mobile phone to ask after his welfare in 2018, after a member of her team told her he had been dealing with social media threats.
The existence of the call will be revealed in “Endgame”, his book about the Royal Family which is published on Nov 28.
Excerpts of the book have already been released in the United States and France, claiming the Duke of Sussex is “ready to forget” his grievances against his family and demands for an apology and explanation of their alleged behaviour, but that the Duchess “refuses to dive back into the soap opera”.
It is particularly critical of the Prince of Wales, and claims the Princess Royal was the driving force behind the Sussexes’ eviction from Frogmore Cottage.
The Sun has reported that Endgame includes details of a letter sent from the Duchess to the King, in which she accused two members of the royal household of discussing her future child’s skin colour.
The Duchess alleged in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that there had been “concerns” raised by an unnamed member of the royal family about the skin colour of Prince Archie before his birth.
The second person raising the issue is not identified in the new book, according to the Sun. It is not known if the individual is a member of the royal family or someone who works for them.
Publishers promise the book will detail: “An unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to great lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.”
Marketing material states that the content is drawn from more than decade of Scobie’s “conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves”.
Sources said the palace has not been contacted about any claims in the book.
‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’
Scobie himself has moved to quash claims from critics that he is “Meghan’s mouthpiece”, this week tweeting: “Let’s get this nonsense out the way - #ENDGAME is about the current state of the British Royal Family.
“It’s not ‘Harry and Meghan’s book’, I’m not ‘Meg’s pal’, the Sussexes have nothing to do with it, their story is a small part of a much bigger one you can read in 12 days.”
In an interview with Paris Match magazine, he added: “I am not their friend and never have been,” he said.
Sources close to the Sussexes have repeatedly emphasised they have nothing to do with Endgame, telling multiple publications the couple are not affiliated with the book or its author.
They have previously insisted they did not contribute to Finding Freedom, his first book.
But in 2021, the Duchess apologised to the British courts for a misleading statement in which she forgot she had asked aides to pass information onto Mr Scobie and his co-author.
Jason Knauf, the couple’s former communications secretary, said in evidence that the book was “discussed on a routine basis” and “discussed directly with the Duchess multiple times in person and over email”.
Endgame is out on Tuesday, Nov 28.
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