‘No going back’ for Prince William and Harry, royal writer Omid Scobie says
There is "no going back" for the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex according to a new book, as their relationship is beyond repair, royal writer Omid Scobie has said.
The journalist, told People magazine that William sees Harry as a “defector”, and some in the institution view him as a “threat to the Crown”.
Scobie said “absolutely nothing” has changed in the brothers’ rift since the release of Harry’s autobiography, Spare, at the start of the year, although there is now an element of indifference.
The writer claims heir to the throne William is prioritising his loyalty to the Crown and quietly co-operating with the UK press to undermine Harry, People magazine reported.
In excerpts of his new book Endgame, which is due out on November 28, Scobie also writes that Harry was “crushed” at having to learn the news of the late Queen’s death from a BBC news report.
Scobie claims palace sources later briefed the King shared the news with Harry personally in a bid to save face.
He wrote how Harry was described by a source close to the Sussexes as being “completely by himself” as he claims William did not respond to his texts about plans to fly to Balmoral on the day of the Queen’s death.
His grandmother died at 3.10pm on September 8 2022. The duke travelled separately up to Scotland from William and other members of his family with his flight leaving at 5.35pm.
The news of the late Queen’s death was announced by Buckingham Palace at 6.30pm while he was in the air.
Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace and Archewell all declined to comment.
The claims come a day after Harry called his father to wish him a happy 75th birthday, with the Telegraph reporting the warm conversation marked a turning point.
The newspaper said the father and son plan to speak again next week, and that Charles also spoke to Meghan, while Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet recorded a video to sing happy birthday to their grandfather.
Scobie is also the co-author of Finding Freedom, a biography of the Sussexes, which claimed the duke was angered by what he perceived as William’s “snobbish” attitude to his bride.
Meghan’s lawyers previously denied she collaborated with the book.
But in November 2021, the duchess apologised to the High Court for not remembering that she agreed an aide could provide information to Scobie and fellow writer Carolyn Durand for the biography.
Relations between William and Harry have long been strained, and worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in double tell-alls: his memoir Spare and his Netflix documentary.
In Spare, released just months after Elizabeth II died, Harry accused William of physically attacking him and pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan.
He also alleged it was William and the now-Princess of Wales who encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005 and “howled” with laughter when they saw it.
Scobie described Spare as Harry’s last attempt to tell his family how he has felt for a long time.
The writer said of Endgame: “I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view.”
He added: “In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the crown.”
Scobie said of the brothers’ relationship: “There’s no going back.”
The book’s full title is Endgame: Inside The Royal Family And The Monarchy’s Fight For Survival, and its chapters include Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial, and another called Gloves On: Prince William, Heir to the Throne.
For the latest royal news, listen to our podcast, the Royal Rota