A preemptive fightback to Omid Scobie’s new book on the royal family, Endgame, appeared to be firmly underway Monday morning through the British press.
Although the book is not published until Tuesday, friends of the royals have been reacting to reports, excerpts, and leaks of the book over the weekend, along with interviews with its author.
It seems the severest criticism in the book is reserved for Prince Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his wife, who were also targets in Scobie’s previous book, Finding Freedom.
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On Monday, friends of William were quoted by the Daily Mail hitting back against suggestions, similar to those made in Harry’s own memoir, Spare, that William authorizes his team to give the media negative information about Harry.
In one extract, Scobie said William “prioritised his loyalty to the monarchy” over his brother’s well-being. In another, Scobie alleges William was behind briefings to the media that Harry was “mentally fragile.”
Scobie writes that William has become a “company man” and “an heir increasingly comfortable with the palace’s dirty tricks and the courtiers who dream them up.”
The Mail quoted a friend of William’s as saying that was the “very opposite” of the truth adding: “He has always been very tight-lipped when it comes to his family and made clear to anyone within his orbit that he would not do ‘deals’ with the media.”
Another friend is quoted as saying: “It’s one thing writing a critique of the royal family. That’s freedom of expression. But it’s another thing to peddle conspiracy theories dressed up as fact. The suggestion that [royal aides] were briefing negative stories [about Harry and Meghan] is totally fabricated. It just didn’t happen. The truth is that everyone was walking on eggshells practically from the engagement trying to keep them happy.”
Friends also predicted William would be annoyed by Scobie’s claims that Kate Middleton is risk averse to the point of inaction.
A source was quoted by the Mail as saying: “That will really wind William up. He’s immensely proud of what his wife has achieved. The princess has been the driving force behind a great deal of their work, particularly when it comes to bettering mental health.”
Meanwhile the Sun has picked through a copy of the book and declared it “littered with errors and conspiracy theories,” including the discredited claim that Princess Diana’s driver on the night she was killed crashed because he was blinded by a “major white flash” from a pursuing paparazzo.
The Sun also criticizes Scobie for painting Charles “as a cheating husband who ruined Princess Diana’s life,” saying that is not fair because Diana had affairs too.
The Sun is perhaps on firmer ground when it disputes Scobie’s central claim that the monarchy is unpopular, pointing out that one recent (and not atypical) poll found 66 percent of British people wanted it to remain.
