"End Game" by Omid Scobie - 2023

[Royalist.in.NC]

Everything that is mentioned by the Daily Mail seems to be either the same or a similar narrative to the one that the Sussexes have been pushing in recent years (in the Oprah interview, Finding Freedom, the Netflix "docuseries", Spare, and so on). By now, they should know it is not working and only hurting their brand, especially when there are no new facts to back it up.


End Game in particular seems to be the low point in their PR campaign actually as, from the excerpts we have seen, the book reads like a gossip magazine at best, to be honest.

I agree- why don’t they see that continuing to whine about the past is doing them no favors? I don’t believe for a minute that Meghan and/or Harry weren’t sources for this book. Remember that Meghan had to admit to the court that she “forgot” in Finding Freedom? Give me a break - this is like a dog with a bone.

 

[Stefan]

Maybe the naming of Archie first as Master Mountbatten-Windsor had more to do with the alternative than the longing for a princely status for him? I always found the names "Earl Dumb-arton" oder Baron Kil(l) - keel" strange in the atmosphere around the wedding, when Meghan was already finding things that did not agree with her. To see her son named "Dumb-Arton" when they had so carefully chosen Harrison was surely something she didn't like. But with a princely title he was again Harry's son as Prince Archie of Sussex, son of the Royal duke of Sussex. So IMHO it is more the non-alternative than the title they were looking for.

But her could have been styled Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor as the son of a duke rather then Master.

 

[soapstar]

What’s really confusing to me is how different Meghan and Harry have characterized the conversation regarding Archie’s skin color. Meghan said it was multiple conversations while she was pregnant, and it was all tied to Archie’s security and titles. While Harry says it was one conversation early in their relationship (before they were married). That’s a huge difference.

Whatever the case, two names being leaked doesn’t feel like a translation mistake. It sounds like someone forgot to edit out the names in the Dutch publication.

 

[Kaye1850]

Whatever the case, two names being leaked doesn’t feel like a translation mistake. It sounds like someone forgot to edit out the names in the Dutch publication.

I don’t for one minute think it was any kind of error or mistake.
More of a long planned and clumsily executed exercise to get this info out, after the Sussexes said it would never be revealed.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

I wonder if Buckingham Palace will issue a statement if this is not proved a "mistake". I mean, the King himself is openly being accused of racism.

Can anyone read the rest of the Dutch paragraph? I thought from the Oprah interview the so called racist comment was made to/in front of Harry before Archie was born. And then Harry told Meghan about it.

If indeed it was Charles who said something, I do not for one second believe that it truly was a racist comment. Look at their wedding - which he had to approve the details:
An African American bishop preaching - Michael Curry is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US (ECUSA)
A gospel choir
Charles walking Meghan down the aisle
Charles being genuinely gracious to Meghan’s mother

If your son is marrying a biracial woman, obviously any child(ren) will have the genetic makeup of both parents. If that had been an “issue” for Charles, I would imagine we’d be reading things from Harry like “My father didn’t want me to marry a black woman but I did anyway” instead of this click bait about someone who said something about the possible skin tones of potential children.

I agree that Charles , like all of us, has his faults, but I don’t believe racism to be one of them based on years and years of things he has said and done.

I agree that Scobie is having one last go to reap whatever he can from the Sussex cash cow. Whether there is new information from H & M or old stuff he was given previously is up for grabs.

If their goal now is to truly repair their relationship with Charles, this book will have the opposite effect. If this is all old stuff with Scobie’s spin and was not Sussex authorized or approved, H &M could do their favorite thing: sue him

 

[Granada]

What I don't understand is why would the names be included in his book first place ? Whatever Country, or language. If Scoble had no intention of opening that can of worms ? Why ?

No aspect of it made much sense to me from the get go anyway. The explosive drama that then engulfed The Family around a perceived "racist" remark, thanks to purposeful vagueness, and ginning up controversy by Megan and Oprah. With Oprah's over the top histrionic response was ridiculous. In my opinion.

It was blown up for ratings, for a cheap killer shot, and to knowingly give a gut punch to The Firm. While Philip was on his death bed and 95 year old Queen Elizabeth was dealing with that, and Royal "racist" fallout.

Harry and Meghan during that Interview EVEN had different stories. ONE conversation while dating, said Harry. While Meghan, claimed several conversations while pregnant..Then Harry WALKED it all back in his Tom Bradby Jan 2023 Interview. Preposterously saying " he never accused his Family of being racist. The British Press did ".

And now Scobie stirs it up ALL OVER again.

Even black American comedian Chris Rock basically said it was common in black mixed race families to be curious.

 

[Granada]

soapstar. Sorry ! while I was posting and formulating my comment, you posted yours first and rightfully pointed out the contradictions about the inconsistencies in The Sussex's Interview with Oprah about "the conversation".

 

[Hallo girl]

I think if Meghan believed that there was something wrong with her husband’s Scottish title that the Queen chose and bestowed, then Meghan was looking pretty hard for things she didn’t like and didn’t agree with. It’s a perfectly respectable title.

I am born and bred in Scotland and I have never heard anyone link the name Dumbarton in the way it is being suggested, this is just nonsense and excuses for Meghan, She wanted the title of Prince for her son at birth and didn't get it. If you notice when they announced the prince and princess titles they made it clear it was their birthright, so they knew the score.

 

[Katymcwaity]

Rick Evers reinforcing whats in the Dutch version

https://twitter.com/x/status/1729875250937200759

There are folks in the comments saying the names are in the italian and Spanish versions too. Not sure if they are just making mischief.

 

[zarat]

I wonder if one day we will know what exactly was said by then Prince Charles... If it was such innocent remark how " Hm... I'm curious what my next grandchild will be like" or " How the baby will look like" so the whole mayhem going on for few years was fully infonded....

 

[Hallo girl]

Rick Evers reinforcing whats in the Dutch version

https://twitter.com/x/status/1729875250937200759

There are folks in the comments saying the names are in the italian and Spanish versions too. Not sure if they are just making mischief.

I think it has been deliberate, Scobie has been making too much fuss about UK laws and how he couldn't name anybody yet.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I wonder if one day we will know what exactly was said by then Prince Charles... If it was such innocent remark how " Hm... I'm curious what my next grandchild will be like" or " How the baby will look like" so the whole mayhem going on for few years was fully infonded....

When Boris Becker's first wife Barbara got pregnant, the whole country of Germany speculated on how the baby would look like. Nothing of this was considered racist.
And funny enough, all of Beckers children that he has with dark skinned women look completely different regarding skin tone and hair colour.
If you dig long and hard enough, you can probably find some racism in every comment that is made, especially when you can sell it to an audience and it serve a purpose.

 

[JR76]

When Boris Becker's first wife Barbara got pregnant, the whole country of Germany speculated on how the baby would look like. Nothing of this was considered racist.

Did anyone bother to ask any Afro-Germans if they agreed with that?

 

[Ghost]

So the latest version is that Scobie got the scoop about the content of the letter from some servant from Clarence House? And “the Princess of Wales” was Camilla?

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Did anyone bother to ask any Afro-Germans if they agreed with that?

In Germany, people usually come forward if they don't agree with something. I am not aware of any controversy.

People usually speculate how their offspring will look, especially if the parents have prominent features or contrary looks. I am sure a lot of people speculated how Charles' children would look, inherited his ears etc.
Of course nobody knows what Charles said, for me it was a clumsy remark, at worst. But if you have motive, and Meghan seems to have a big one, you can interpret anything into everything.

 

[Mbruno]

So the latest version is that Scobie got the scoop about the content of the letter from some servant from Clarence House? And “the Princess of Wales” was Camilla?

The Dutch version makes it clear that Scobie was referring to Catherine as it mentions Meghan as her “ sister in law”.

 

[Alison H]

I can't see that there's anything wrong in musing about what a baby will look like.

But this is definitely a set up. How can naming someone be an "error in translation"? If the names weren't there in the English text, how could they have been translated incorrectly? You can't translate something which isn't there.

 

[Durham]

So The King wrote to Meghan Markle after the Winfrey interview? If that's true, with the greatest of respect to HM, he needs his head examining.

 

[Mbruno]

So The King wrote to Meghan Markle after the Winfrey interview? If that's true, with the greatest of respect to HM, he needs his head examining.

As you may recall, Diana and Prince Philip also exchanged several letters during the turbulent years of Diana's marriage.

I suppose it never occurred to Charles that Meghan would ever betray his confidence and leak private correspondence.

 

[Hallo girl]

As you may recall, Diana and Prince Philip also exchanged several letters during the turbulent years of Diana's marriage.

I suppose it never occurred to Charles that Meghan would ever betray his confidence and leak private correspondence.

Especially when one of their main issues had been their claims that people leaked against them.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Maybe the naming of Archie first as Master Mountbatten-Windsor had more to do with the alternative than the longing for a princely status for him? I always found the names "Earl Dumb-arton" oder Baron Kil(l) - keel" strange in the atmosphere around the wedding, when Meghan was already finding things that did not agree with her. To see her son named "Dumb-Arton" when they had so carefully chosen Harrison was surely something she didn't like. But with a princely title he was again Harry's son as Prince Archie of Sussex, son of the Royal duke of Sussex. So IMHO it is more the non-alternative than the title they were looking for.

Dumbarton and Killkeel are real places in Scotland so why should there be a problem? That’s not a valid reason to complain about titles. In any case, William and Charles are only referred to their Scottish titles (Scottish territorial designations) in Scotland, no one at School refers to any of William’s kids by ducal or Princely titles- George probably goes by George Cambridge or George Wales. If they didn’t like the territorial designations, they probably could have asked for a different one. Archie wouldn’t be a Prince until Charles became King. He technically is a Prince now, but it’s pointless because they live in America and aren’t working royals. The choice of territorial designation was not a slight or some insult to their child.

 

[Durham]

As you may recall, Diana and Prince Philip also exchanged several letters during the turbulent years of Diana's marriage.

I suppose it never occurred to Charles that Meghan would ever betray his confidence and leak private correspondence.

It does display an extraordinary naivete. Why on earth was he not advised strongly against writing? How could anyone think that was a good idea?

Maybe he ignored advice & just went ahead anyway. The only silver lining is that my (entirely unscientific) instinct is that most people either don't believe that The King was malicious or don't care.

I suppose ever since the Winfrey interview this was all going to come out at some point anyway. It might with a bit of luck accelerate Mr & Mrs Harry Windsor's descent into an obscure notoriety.

 

[Hallo girl]

It does display an extraordinary naivete. Why on earth was he not advised strongly against writing? How could anyone think that was a good idea?

Maybe he ignored advice & just went ahead anyway. The only silver lining is that my (entirely unscientific) instinct is that most people either don't believe that The King was malicious or don't care.

I suppose ever since the Winfrey interview this was all going to come out at some point anyway. It might with a bit of luck accelerate Mr & Mrs Harry Windsor's descent into an obscure notoriety.

It was a letter to his daughter in law, he was trying to keep his family together

 

[Durham]

It was a letter to his daughter in law, he was trying to keep his family together

I suppose he was but even so it doesn't seem to have been the best course of action at the time. Definitely not in hindsight.

Any letter was always going to be a hostage to fortune.

 

[HRHHermione]

I have finished reading "End Game" and I am ready to share impressions of it. Overall, I found it remarkably mean-spirited and cruel.The author, unsurprisingly, gave glowing reviews of the Sussex couple but interpreted every possible thing he could about other members of the royal family as negative, calculating, or out-of-touch. These include some things that have already been reported here because they were included in official reviews, such as the idea that Sophie's joking reaction to the Oprah interview where she said "Oprah who?" was actually vaguely racist. It also includes that Camilla was "smirking" as she was crowned because her plan to go from mistress to Queen had finally been realized, and it insinuates the Princess of Wales is a Stepford Wife who struggles to exhibit any leadership or to learn new skills. It also thoroughly rips into Prince William, calling him a "company man" repeatedly to insinuate that he has been entirely subsumed by an institution that Scobie considers corrupt. The criticisms of the King are just as brutal, ranging from accusing him of shadiness in his financial dealings to implying that he was such a neglectful parent that it was his fault Prince Harry experimented with drugs (though it leaves out that per "Spare," he has continued to experiment long after his father could reasonably be blamed.)

I took notes on several themes and intend to post reviews of each chapter throughout this evening as I go back over my chapter notes. For the chapters with more filler content, I will probably combine posts.

 

[Mbruno]

I have finished reading "End Game" and I am ready to share impressions of it. Overall, I found it remarkably mean-spirited and cruel.The author, unsurprisingly, gave glowing reviews of the Sussex couple but interpreted every possible thing he could about other members of the royal family as negative, calculating, or out-of-touch. These include some things that have already been reported here because they were included in official reviews, such as the idea that Sophie's joking reaction to the Oprah interview where she said "Oprah who?" was actually vaguely racist. It also includes that Camilla was "smirking" as she was crowned because her plan to go from mistress to Queen had finally been realized, and it insinuates the Princess of Wales is a Stepford Wife who struggles to exhibit any leadership or to learn new skills. It also thoroughly rips into Prince William, calling him a "company man" repeatedly to insinuate that he has been entirely subsumed by an institution that Scobie considers corrupt. The criticisms of the King are just as brutal, ranging from accusing him of shadiness in his financial dealings to implying that he was such a neglectful parent that it was his fault Prince Harry experimented with drugs (though it leaves out that per "Spare," he has continued to experiment long after his father could reasonably be blamed.)

I took notes on several themes and intend to post reviews of each chapter throughout this evening as I go back over my chapter notes. For the chapters with more filler content, I will probably combine posts.

Wild speculation, but I wonder if there was a split between Harry and Meghan surrounding this book. Harry reportedly wanted to return (at least part time) to the UK and was seeking some kind of reconciliation. Meghan, on the other hand, is reported to want to never set foot in the UK again, so she decides to go for what she (in my opinion, mistakenly) sees as "the nuclear option".

 

[Asteria12]

Thank you HRHHermione, look forward to reading your reviews.


I doubt it Mbruno, Harry seems fully committed to sticking with his burning ship of gripes and will probably go down with it.

 

[HRHHermione]

Chapter 1- The Queen and Her Piper, Elizabeth II's Final Days

To get these chapter reviews up, I will rely heavily on quotes because they are easy to grab from my notes and because I think many are best understood when read in their entirety.

One of the biggest weaknesses of Scobie's work is an appalling tendency to state opinions as facts. This was obvious within the first ten pages of the book and I found myself writing "source?" and "according to whom?" every few pages. The first one I noted is that he calls the King "a philandering husband who destroyed the life of Princess Diana—an ignominious legacy he’s eager to put behind him now that he is on the throne." He concludes that paragraph by stating "much of the British public will never fully forgive him for his role in Diana’s tragic demise." I think it goes without stating that the King had no role in Diana's death and that he cannot be held responsible for the drunk and reckless driving that actually did kill her. Additionally, I think most acknowledge that their marriage was problematic on both sides and that blame cannot and should not be apportioned to one party.

He also immediately blames the King for failing to reach peace with the Sussexes and insinuates it will make him an unfit monarch, declaring that "His failure to initiate a substantive dialogue with Prince Harry, despite how clearly his son detailed their fracture in interviews and public statements, is yet another sign of his inability to effectively address family matters head-on or navigate constitutional crises."

After leading with the idea that Prince Harry has long been used as a distraction from negative stories about other royals, Scobie says that "No longer useful as a helpful distraction or collateral damage, William had been wanting to distance himself from his brother ever since Harry’s marriage to Meghan—whom the then Duke of Cambridge took a disliking to from the start." This dislike is not explained as anything other than irrational prejudice at any point in the narrative.

Scobie's tendency to state opinions as fact and to use hyperbole extends to his own evaluations of his past work. About his first Sussex book, Finding Freedom, he says "It blew the lid off the Sussex saga, finally revealing the backroom machinations and family betrayals that eventually forced the royal couple out of the Firm." Having endured "Finding Freedom," that would not be how I would describe it.

He also takes opportunities wherever possible to describe the Sussexes in glowing terms. Of Harry, he says "Even at the height of his painful battle with the institution, I can’t forget how Prince Harry’s closest aide told me that the Queen’s life of public service continues to inspire and motivate his every step forward in the Sussexes’ new American life."

Many of the groundwork in Chapter 1 attempts to establish the narrative that Harry and Meghan were cruelly treated and forced out of the family, that they have taken no actions that intended to harm anyone else but instead are seeking justice, and that the failure to keep them as working royals is due to ineptitude and cruelty by the rest of the royal family.

 

[HRHHermione]

Chapter 2- Shaky Ground: The Queen is Dead, The Monarchy Faces Trouble

This chapter was exceedingly tedious. (This is not the first time my notes will mention the same reaction to a chapter.)

It opens by rehashing the incident between Lady Susan Hussey and Ngozi Fulani. It insinuates that even allowing her to attend this reception and interact with guests was a "blunder" by Queen Camilla. Scobie says of Hussey "An octogenarian and trusted advisor to the Queen, Hussey might have had respect from the family members, but it was unwise to put her in a public-facing position at an event with such a diverse crowd at a time when they needed to show some proof of modernization." He also makes sure to state Lady Susan's age as 83. His clear point is that someone of Lady Susan's age and social standing should not have been even trusted to attend. Curious how someone who consistently bills himself as the progressive voice in the room veers so consistently into both ageism and misogyny. (Trust me, the misogyny is coming) This part concludes by saying that Charles knows he cannot modernize too quickly and that this "leaves him in the unfortunate position of resorting to virtue signaling and enacting half measures."

The next part of the chapter had me simply write "LOL" in my notes because this one will be a howler to anyone who has followed the royal family for any length of time. In comparing Charles and William, Scobie attempts to portray Prince William as uniquely hungry for the throne. He quotes an unnamed source as saying "There was rarely a moment where [Charles] stepped on his mother’s toes . . . but it’s different with William. He’s eager to establish himself as his own man . . . He’s not giving his father the same space Charles did with the Queen. There’s no time for that.” Anyone who has ever read a book about Prince Charles will know that establishing himself as his own man and being eager to take on the throne is a repeating theme of everything ever written about him from about the age of 21. He claims this eagerness of William to be seen as separate from Charles is why there have been few joint engagements between the two since Charles took the throne, but I think most royal watchers would point to logistics as a bigger factor there. Having the King and the Prince of Wales in the same place at the same time for all but the biggest events is a waste of manpower- and Charles and the late Queen were rarely at engagements together until she was nearing the end of her reign.

William and Kate's Caribbean tour is discussed as an image disaster, and the implication is that it was a symptom of lack of diversity in their staff. Scobie specifically mentions the photo that was most used on twitter. He says "Photos of William and Kate in Trench Town clutching the hands of young Black boys and girls through a fence that bore an unfortunate likeness to a cage set the tone for the rest of the trip." Personally, I have always believed that ignoring children that were excited to greet them would have been just as negatively received, and I am not sure that those photos would have been received that way had a narrative of racism at the palace not been established by Meghan and Harry (though I do think that growing Republican sentiment in the countries they visited would have made it a difficult tour regardless of other factors). Hideously, he claims that the King enjoyed that the tour went badly for the Wales couple and was angry that William made a post-tour statement, saying "Charles (who allegedly derived some schadenfreude from his son’s recent missteps and public humiliation) was said to be furious over William’s effrontery."

The chapter is the one where Sophie's Oprah comments are used against her, and it is to make Scobie's ultimate point: "What may seem like a trivial episode by itself, Sophie’s Oprah gaffe is yet another page to add to the history of recent royal screw-ups. Put together, these miscues make up a dossier that could be used to prove that the institution is an anachronistic, intolerant organization steeped in bigotry and privilege."

It then goes on to argue that the institution is also too expensive to justify its existence, making the point about the budget rising by 5% from 2022 to 2023, which I already pointed out underran inflation by 6 percentage points, which would be considered prudent financial management by anyone with experience managing budgets. This is used to reinforce Scobie's whole chapter theme: "Tone-deaf, racist, and financially reckless are three charges the Firm has had to deal with over the years" which again had me writing "Source? By whom?" in my notes.

The chapter hilariously concludes that William and Charles are increasingly acting out a father-son drama on the global stage… which would have had me spitting out my wine if I had been fortunate enough to have a glass in hand. I don't think that's the particular father-son relationship that has exploded on a global stage…

Other small items of interest: Scobie confirms that the Netflix trailer for the Harry and Meghan series was intentionally released the day of William and Kate's visit to Boston, but he says that was a decision by Netflix, carefully avoiding the implication that Meghan and Harry had any direct say in that.

There's a description of Prince Edward as "a soft-spoken prince more at home in the West End or on Broadway than on the royal stage" which I personally read as a dog whistle to old rumors about Edward's sexuality though it could also have been a harmless reference to Edward's personal interests in theater.

 

[HRHHermione]

Chapter 3- "Oh God, I Hate This"- King Charles' Premiere

Many mountains were made out of many molehills. Pages were devoted to how Charles getting frustrated with leaky pens is a window into everything wrong with him as a leader. This chapter also posits that Charles dislikes being King and misses the freedom of being the Prince of Wales, which was quite jarring to read right after a chapter about how William can't wait to stop being Prince of Wales and become the King.

At first it seemed very silly that so much focus was on small incidents demonstrating that Charles can be temperamental and impatient, but gradually the point emerged: his temperament made him unfit in how he reacted to Prince Harry. Scobie says "Staying mum about Harry's accusations and remaining publicly unconcerned for his son’s well-being while ending his family’s lease on a safe U.K. residence was not a decisive action by a resolute King; it was a cheap shot from a wounded father bound by an institutional system that is often intolerant of human emotion." It also says that the King's silence on their allegations benefited the institution but not him. I came away from this chapter absolutely convinced that the Sussex camp BADLY wants to force a public reaction from the King and the rest of the royal family and have been extremely frustrated and angered by the official policy of silence.

I think it is important to include how Scobie views Meghan and Harry's work during this time. He calls the Meghan and Harry series a "media juggernaut that commandeered international attention and dominated the news cycle for weeks" and says "The couple’s revelations in the first episodes enthralled millions (Netflix’s highest-viewed documentary ever)."He accused everyone in the family of leaking and briefing the media with their reactions- which is not the first time that any response at all to Meghan and Harry by any royal source is treated as insidious "briefing" of private information about them rather than a response to private information being disclosed BY them. He also highlights any moment Harry tries to reach out to his father, often ignoring that it is happening as Harry and Meghan release more private information about the family to the public, and blames Charles for not talking to or meeting with Harry for anything more than light small talk.

There's more to come, but I left this section firmly believing that Sussex talking points about reconciliation, not looking back, or moving on is hollow because the claims that began with the Oprah video, escalated with Meghan's The Cut Interview and the Netflix series, then escalated again in Spare and now this book from a friendly reporter all have the exact same themes- but the tone continues to get worse and accusations are getting more direct. More to come on that.