Author Omid Scobie indicated he’s spared almost no one in his second book about the British royal family, “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival,” out this week. Scobie asserted the “bar is lower” for Catherine, the princess of Wales, because “we infantilize her massively.” He describes King Charles as “a flawed father” who is being waited out by his eldest son and the family as one that, in “an almost Trumpian twist, leans on patriotism” to “shore up its purpose.”
The charges against the royal family were many and varied, but appeared to almost entirely exclude the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the duke and duchess of Sussex. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Scobie denied the pair influenced his newest book. Of Markle’s possible involvement in the book, he said, “No, and I’m not her friend. I didn’t interview her for this book.”
In his book, Prince William’s wife Catherine, the former Kate Middleton, is described as being too scared to do much more for the family other than take advantage of photo ops.
Scobie told the outlet, “In the coverage of Kate we infantilize her massively so the bar is always lower. The small achievements that we’ve seen from the Princess of Wales wouldn’t perhaps be noticed if it was from another member of the royal family, but with Kate it’s like ‘wow!’”
Of attempts by the family to modernize in recent years, Scobie wrote that those efforts have taken an almost overly patriotic turn. He explains, “To stay relevant, the system, in an almost Trumpian twist, leans on patriotism — even jingoism — to shore up its purpose.”
“Rather than ever facing or confronting challenges of modern times, whether that is diversity or other social issues, the institution of the monarchy regularly turns away from that, and relies on support for things of the past as opposed to widening the following of the royal family,” he added.
The relationship between King Charles and his oldest son, Prince William, is also said to be stretched thin. Scobie described William as being in “heir mode” and knowing “his father’s reign is only transitional.” As a result, the two have been unable to find a common ground that would benefit them both.
Charles did not escape Scobie’s microscope. The author described the king as “a flawed father and a philandering husband who destroyed the life of Princess Diana” and as a king who is not entirely pleased with his new title and role.
“There has been a kind of realization of what the role is compared to being the Prince of Wales, where there was a little bit more freedom and … personality,” Scobie added.
Elsewhere, Scobie’s book dives into rumors that two members of the royal household had “concerns” about Prince Archie’s skin color ahead of his birth, as well as the circumstances surrounding the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, which happened before Prince Harry had arrived at the family’s home of Sandringham.
“Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival” will be released on Tuesday.
