29 November 2023 , 07:10
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Copies of a controversial book on the Royal Family sent to the Netherlands have appeared to name a second person said to have made racist comments to Meghan Markle about her son.
Omid Scobie’s book Endgame was released yesterday and caused shockwaves as it revealed two royals made derogatory remarks about the colour of and unborn son, Archie. And in a paragraph not included in the English version, a Dutch preview edition seemed to name both Royals at the centre of a race storm sparked in 2021 when The Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused an unnamed senior royal of expressing “concern” about their child’s complexion.
Another entire passage which appears in the Dutch version of Endgame appears to reveal the names of the two royals at the centre of Meghan’s racism allegations, which is mysteriously missing from the English version. The Mirror has chosen not to publish the name of the person in question.
Omid Scobie's book has caused controversy (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Endgame went on sale this weekAlongside details of Meghan’s letter to the King, the Dutch version reads “it was revealed that XXX and XXX took part in such conversations about Archie”. Referring to the letters written between Meghan and the King discussing the issue, the Dutch version of the book reads: “But in those private letters and identity was revealed and confirmed."
A Dutch journalist who spotted the passage said on his X (formerly ) profile: “NL (Netherlands) version 'Endgame' must be withdrawn from sale, says Dutch publisher at request of the US agent. "A number of passages have sparked debate, may not have been accurately presented. This seems to concern also the accusation against XXX (name redacted), about Archie's skin color (sic).”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2020 (PA)Xander, the publishers of the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie's Endgame, have put sales of the book on hold "temporarily" over what it calls an "error". They 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 himself has denied responsibility for the error, telling Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard: "The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, I'm sure the publishers will have it under control. I wrote and edited the English version. There's never been no version I've produced which has names in it."
The accusations of racism stemmed from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah. Meghan told her: “In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time . . . so 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." Asked if she would reveal who asked, Meghan replied: "I think that would be very damaging to them."