Riddle of Omid Scobie from true age to how he really became Meghan's mouthpiece
A first look at royal biographer Omid Scobie's new book has been released in People magazine today.
Titled Endgame, the bombshell book is said to be a 'penetrating investigation' into the future of the Royal Family - with chapters including his interpretation of the late Queen Elizabeth II's final days, the fall of Prince Andrew, and a final section dedicated to 'man on a mission' Prince Harry. The scathing book, available globally from November 21, is subtitled 'Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival' and is the latest from the royal journalist, who was one of the authors of the Sussexes' biography Finding Freedom.
Publisher HarperCollins previously said the book will "have the world talking" and Mr Scobie said it will reveal moments that royals should be "ashamed of". But who is Mr Scobie and how did he come to be the mouthpiece for Meghan Markle in particular?
Royal journalist Omid started out as Heat mag before landing a job with US Weekly (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Scobie often appears on TV with the latest royal commentary (ITV)Omid was born in Wales but grew up in Oxford, where he was raised by an Iranian mother and British father. He went on to study journalism at the London College of Communication and once graduated, he started writing for Heat magazine before bagging a role with entertainment magazine US Weekly as their European bureau chief.
He stayed with the publication for a decade, where a large part of his role involved reporting on the royal family. Although he once described the royal press pack as "cheerleaders and mouthpieces", he has bid to be accepted as a member of the rota system, though Buckingham Palace has shown reluctance. In an interview with This Morning, he even claimed he has felt 'prejudice' from Palace aides.
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He went on to become royal editor at Harper's Bazaar and a contributor for ABC News, and after going freelance in 2017, has regularly appeared on Good Morning America and ITV's This Morning to provide royal commentary. In 2020, he co-authored the eyebrow-raising book, Finding Freedom, alongside Carolyn Durand, which is centred around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bold decision to leave the firm and the explosive fallout from it.
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Thousands of copies were sold in days of its release and as a result, it secured a number one spot on The Sunday Times bestseller list. However, the authenticity of Scobie's relationship with the royal couple has come under fire on more than one occasion.
He reportedly first met Meghan in 2015 at Toronto Fashion Week and in the book, he claimed to have given the former Suits star a "big farewell hug" in Buckingham Palace following the Sussexes' final engagement as working royals. He was forced to deny claims of having interviewed the pair ahead of writing the book.
However buried in an author's note at the back of the pages, an admission reportedly states: "We have spoken to close friends of Harry and Meghan, royal aides and palace staff (past and present), the charities and organisations they have built long-lasting relationships with and, when appropriate, the couple themselves."
During Meghan's 2020 privacy lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday - after it published a letter that she had written to her estranged father - Scobie provided a supportive witness statement, affirming that, despite his claims, the couple hadn't been interviewed for Finding Freedom. Though Meghan later had to apologise to the court as it emerged her former chief of communications had been directed by the couple to brief the authors.
Omid is a co-author of Finding Freedom (ITV)Scobie then appeared in court earlier this year, where he testified during Prince Harry's hearing against a British group of newspapers in the High Court in London. Scobie admitted to the court that he does not have a personal relationship with either Harry or Meghan despite him being considered one of Meghan's pals and biggest cheerleaders.
He revealed he had never socialised with the prince after being probed on whether he had a "vested interest" in representing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a good light in a bid to get ahead with his career. He insisted: "I don't have a close relationship [with the Duke and Duchess] personally."
The journalist, who added that he did not have Harry's number, said: "It's got to the point that when I get press releases from Harry and Meghan's people, I wait for other people to post it first so I don't have to deal with the Daily Mail articles saying that it came from me."
Elsewhere, his reporting in the aftermath of the Queen's death was questioned, as he said on television that her coffin would make the journey from "Scotland to the UK" via the royal train - however many viewers pointed out that Scotland is indeed part of the UK, while the coffin was flown to RAF Northolt in west London.
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He later owned up to the mishap, saying it was a "slip of the tongue and [I’m] happy to own it". Meanwhile, his real age is another grey area. Online, Omid's age is listed as 42, which has left some viewers confused given his youthful looks.
When he appeared in a previous segment of This Morning with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield - joining them on the sofa to talk about Meghan's absence from the King's Coronation - viewers took to Twitter to share their disbelief about Omid's age. One shared: "But... but... I thought he looked fresh out of uni!" while another viewer tweeted: "No f*****g way," and a third person said he "looks about 12".
And there was also some confusion when he was interviewed for Tatler magazine and the author raised a profile written by Andrew Billen, where he had given his age as just 33. Scobie denied lying to the interviewer and said: "I'm 38 years old, not 33. There's a celebrity website that says I'm 30, there's another website that says I'm 34 and one that says I'm 20."
However the magazine reportedly checked the accusation with Billen, who went through his transcript from his chat with the author. The magazine alleged that Scobie told him: "I'm 33, I just turned 33" which was met with a message of congratulations.
Upon the release of Endgame next week, a source told The Mail on Sunday: "I've been told this is bad, very bad. It is unlikely that Royal aides will comment, but if there are charges of racism, they will, of course, be robustly rebutted." It was due to be published in August, but the date was pushed back to include events surrounding the King's Coronation.
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