Republished Endgame loses ‘lazy Wills’ comment amid ‘hundreds of changes’
The Dutch edition of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame has been republished in a sanitised version in which the Prince of Wales is no longer depicted as “lazy Wills”, according to a journalist in Holland.
The original book caused outrage by reigniting the racism row between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Royal family.
Rick Evers, the Dutch journalist who uncovered the names of the “royal racists”, said Scobie’s book has been re-released in Holland with “hundreds of changes”.
Comparisons between the newly published Dutch-language version and the first edition show that the names of the two family members alleged to have voiced concerns about Prince Archie’s skin colour have been removed.
Changes ‘from the Sussex camp’
Mr Evers said some changes are only small, such as changing “Queen Camilla” to “Camilla, Queen Consort”.
Commenting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Evers said in some places where Omid wrote “I”, the new version of the book cites “ABC News” as the one reporting.
Some source references have been supplemented or new sources added, he said. Sometimes sources are more vague and therefore harder to trace.
Other references, however, stand in stark contrast to their original forms.
King Charles was originally said to have made “questionable deals” and to possess “suspicious links and … poor judgment”, according to Mr Evers. The new book only refers to “questionable choices”.
Similarly, Prince William is no longer characterised as “lazy Wills”, but is said to have a “workshy image”.
Mr Evers said the adjustments clearly come “from the Sussex camp” as sources close to Harry and Meghan are quoted differently.
Last week, Mr Scobie, 42, finally admitted that the names of the two alleged royal “racists” were included in early drafts of his book.
He had previously denied any responsibility for the King and the Princess of Wales being named as the relatives who had made comments about Prince Archie’s skin tone before he was born.
Following much criticism and speculation, Mr Scobie admitted in a piece for the i newspaper that “unbeknownst” to him, “early and uncleared text” including the names had been provided to his Dutch publisher in advance so that translators could begin working on the text.
It was the first time Mr Scobie appeared to acknowledge he had written the names of the senior members of the Royal family in early drafts.
The author had previously strenuously denied “ever” submitting a version of Endgame with the names included.
‘Career incendiary device for Meghan’
Nick Ede, a brand and culture expert, told MailOnline: “The book written by Omid Scobie is potentially a career incendiary device for Meghan.
“Just as Harry’s own goal of a book has proved for him, the new book by Scobie unfortunately has fuelled a fire which many had thought would die down.”
The race row first began in March 2021 when the Duchess of Sussex alleged in an Oprah Winfrey TV interview that a member of the Royal family had speculated about the colour of her unborn son’s skin.
The Sussexes never named the individual but Mr Scobie’s book referred to two members of the family who were alleged to have made comments about the prince’s skin colour.
Endgame sold fewer than 6,500 copies in Britain in the first five days after its publication.