Britain’s Queen Camilla, Britain’s King Charles III, Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales pose for a picture during a reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace.
Photos: Chris Jackson/Pool/AFP
BOOK: Endgame by Omid Scobie, HarperCollins Publishers
When journalist Omid Scobie’s Endgame was published at the end of November, the British royal family found themselves in the middle of yet another crisis. Still dealing with the fallout as a result of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s claims and having not yet found their footing following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Charles, William and even Kate found themselves in hot water.
Scobie, meanwhile, is very aware that he has made himself the sacrificial journo-lamb as he explains we’re seeing the last of the British royals’ reign. He proclaims very seriously and super dramatically: “We’re in the endgame.”
And while Scobie has moved further away from being an objective third party, he’s put together a damning telling of the monarchy’s next, or rather final, chapter. And one they won’t likely be able to draft a quick statement about in the hopes of snapping their fingers to make it dither and disappear.
The first half of Scobie’s book begins amid Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Throughout, he profiles the various members of the firm and critical moments that have shown their character. Scobie doesn’t shy away from painting each senior royal how he sees them. His account, of course, is shaped by moments you would have seen in the press. So, while there are a few bombshells, any royalist will feel this is a story they already know. The moments include Prince Andrew’s disastrous News Night interview and William and Kate’s unfortunate Caribbean tour, with comments and quotes from palace aides and insiders (at one point, Scobie says he was the ultimate insider, but as he constantly reminds us in Endgame, he’s put that all on the line).
A copy of a book by British author Omid Scobie, “Endgame” is seen on display inside a book store in London on December 1, 2023.
What, or who, emerges is a resilient Camilla, reckless Andrew, determined Harry and focused William and Kate.
It was William, Scobie reveals, who was instrumental in getting Andrew’s titles stripped and allegedly helped frame the narrative of a paranoid Diana after Martin Bashir’s deceptive means of getting his Panorama interview was exposed. Meanwhile, Kate, Scobie claims, played an integral part in the palace’s “recollections may vary” statement following Meghan Markle’s comments about experiencing racism within the firm. Safe to say, in Endgame, the future king and queen aren’t painted in the most favourable light (and I’m not even mentioning the spilt ink in a Dutch version of the book with ever worse recollections as to who exactly it was who raised concerns about Archie’s skin colour).
READ MORE | Author denies naming UK royals in ‘racism’ row
Speaking of leaky pens, however, Charles’ profile is by far the worst. Scobie shares what he, and many others, including William himself, apparently, think of the world’s longest-training intern, sharing, after all this time, they feel he’s still not fit to be king.
“Think of it this way,” Scobie says. “Imagine if Apple had decades to roll out a revolutionary new successor to the iPhone, one they’d spent a great deal of time and money hyping up as an emblem of the next generation of communication, and then clumsily unveiled, with great fanfare, a throwback, temperamental flip phone riddled with software bugs.”
Scobie is an excellent writer. Having been in the system for long enough, I’d like to think his sources are trusted, too, while his words are intentional – they’re clearly, explicitly harsh when he feels they need to be. His writing is also exceptionally well-researched, with his subject matter well-documented. So, even if you were to take a lot of what he says as hearsay, you can’t ignore Ngozi Fulani’s experience or glaze over that photo of William and Kate shaking people’s hands in the Caribbean through a fence while embracing colonial-style photo ops for that particular blunder of a royal tour.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge visit Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae music, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour of the Caribbean on March 22, 2022 in Kingston.
By recounting the time that’s passed since the queen’s death, Scobie is clear about how he feels about the monarchy. In his words, it’s a “throwback organisation” he charges with being “tone-deaf, racist, and financially reckless”.
“The rot has set in, and it’s eating away at the monarchy’s undergirding,” he says as he believes the institution is more vulnerable than ever, also referencing “a shrinking Commonwealth, a retreating world presence, and a weakening economy at home”.
“Without Queen Elizabeth II, who is there to offer counterpoint? To stop the rot from spreading? Like Dorian’s portrait in the attic, the ruinous truth is starting to show.”
From another reporter’s point of view, however, I don’t necessarily think we are in the endgame, while I do agree with many points made in Scobie’s book. I think there’s something infinitely alluring about the British royal family. Although a younger generation is far less forgiving of the archaic institution’s many, many pitfalls, if the crowds that lined the streets for Charles’ coronation are anything to go by, it’s that this particular family still represents something inherently British to its people.
I will say, though, after a dire few years, Charles will have to make good on his promise for a slimmed-down, more modern monarchy as support continues to dwindle before King William steps in. A good start, in my opinion, would be gathering and employing the infinity stones (I am aware the title of this book has more to do with chess than superheroes, although the palace could really use a few of them right now) of PR and comms specialists to weather the endless storms of a scrambling monarchy.
The secret’s out on “the men and women in grey” and their alleged close relationships with the press. The same is true of the self-assured royal key players left in this particular game of chess. And while I don’t think they’ll concede defeat any time soon – they’re even considering legal action against alleged close bud, Piers Morgan, after he named two royals connected to the Prince Archie race row – more and more people are witnessing and realising they’re slowly running out of moves. But I guess recollections may vary.
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