Endgame: Publisher of book that appeared to name royal as racist ‘called journalist within one hour’ of his writing about it
A journalist who spotted that a new book appeared to name a royal at the centre of a racism row says he was called by the publisher within an hour of writing his article.
Rick Evers, who has been a royal correspondent in the Netherlands for 14 years, told Sky News he published an article with key claims made in Endgame at around midday on Tuesday.
By 1pm, he says the publisher had been in touch to ask him to delete the article over “legal problems” in the book, written by Omid Scobie, who some commentators have said is an ally of Harry and Meghan.
The book appeared to name two royals who the Sussexes claim raised concern over the skin colour of Meghan’s then-unborn son, Archie – but only in the version sold in the Netherlands.
Xander, the publishers of the Dutch translation, have put sales of the book on hold “temporarily” over what it calls an “error”.
“I think it took an hour for the publisher to phone me to ask me to delete the whole article and to get it offline, because there are some legal problems with it,” he said.
“And, of course, I was very curious – what was it? They couldn’t say it, because there were names mentioned.
“The only thing they had to say [was] that all of the books will be destroyed from the Dutch versions. So, there was something wrong.”
The book claimed Kate ‘ignored Meghan’s cries for help’
Mr Scobie’s book claims that Meghan wrote a letter to King Charles, who at the time was the Prince of Wales, expressing concern about unconscious bias in the Royal Family.
This came after the Duchess of Sussex claimed in her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that a member of the Royal Family raised “concerns” about Archie’s skin colour.
The version being sold in English-speaking countries does not name anyone, with Mr Scobie stating: “Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were.”
But early readers in the Netherlands spotted the Dutch version names an individual.
Mr Evers – who says he did not realise the Dutch version was any different until after he had published an article – said he does not believe it is down to a “mistranslation”, as Mr Scobie has suggested.
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Publishers Xander say there had been an ‘error in the Dutch translation’ of the book, originally written in English by the author.
“If you compare the Dutch version and the English version it is quite clear that there is just a paragraph missing,” he said.
“One of them is replaced by some kind of sentence that Omid is not allowed to say the names because of legal problems to mention them, so it’s very clear that something has been erased.”
He said he suspects the original manuscript was checked by a legal department, who told the publishers the name should “come out”.
“So, I think they sent it to all the translators all over the world, who were translating the manuscript, except for one country – the Netherlands,” he said, adding he does not believe the name was included on purpose.
Mr Evers said he was one of two journalists in the Netherlands to receive an advanced copy of the book – none in the UK did.
Read more:
Who is Omid Scobie and what are his links to the royals?
Five revelations from Omid Scobie’s controversial new book
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Mr Scobie told chat show RTL Boulevard he wrote the English version and “there was no version from me in which names were mentioned”.
Xander, the publishers, said the books are being withdrawn from sale – though Mr Evers says some copies can still be bought in shops.
“[We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale,” Xander said in a statement. “An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified.”
Harry and Meghan have always refused to reveal who they claim raised concerns about Archie’s skin colour before he was born, but they did clarify it was not Prince Philip or the late Queen.
British drama Adolescence has seen its lead stars all nominated for Golden Globe awards.
The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl, as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. It was one of the most talked-about shows of the year.
Young Owen Cooper is up for best supporting actor. Pic:Netflix
Graham, along with Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty are all up for gongs. It follows a host of wins at the Emmys in September.
Receiving five nominations in total, the Netflix limited series was only beaten by HBO’s White Lotus, which got six nods, coming top in the TV category.
Cynthia Erivo was nominated for her role in the Wicked sequel, Wicked For Good, while British stars Gary Oldman, Helen Mirren and Aimee Lou Wood also got recognition for their roles in Slow Horses, Mobland and The White Lotus, respectively.
Mirren will also be awarded one of the Globe’s two lifetime achievement awards, the Cecil B DeMille Award, announced a few days before the ceremony in the New Year.
Emily Blunt picked up a surprise nomination for her role in The Smashing Machine, opposite Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – who also got a nod for the sports biopic.
Tessa Thompson was recognised for her role in Hedda, a modern re-telling of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play.
Irish stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley were both nominated for Hamnet, the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s book about William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. The movie isn’t out in the UK until January.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good
Ryan Coogler (L) and Michael B Jordan at the Sinners premiere. Pic: AP
Films, TV – and podcasts
Unlike other awards, the Globes cover both TV and film and are split by genre, falling into either the drama or comedy and musical category – meaning a wealth of nominees are in the running.
This year, there are 28 categories.
In the film category, One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, led the nominations with nine, followed by Norwegian comedy-drama Sentimental Value with eight, and vampire horror Sinners with seven.
Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from One Battle After Another.
Pic: Warner Bros/AP
KPop Demon Hunters continued its world domination with three nominations – best animated film, cinematic and box office achievement and original song – making an Oscar nod further down the line look more and more likely.
New to this year’s nominations is a category for podcasts. Selected from a long list of the 25 most-listened to shows, Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard and Call Her Daddy were among the casts that made the cut.
Sarah Jessica Parker will be honoured with the Carol Burnett Award.
Now in comeback mode, the Globes had previously faced criticism over a lack of diversity in the organisation, which led to the event being held behind closed doors in 2022.
The 83rd Golden Globes ceremony will take place in LA on 11 January, and will be hosted by US comedian Nikki Glaser for the second year running.
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