OMID SCOBIE made a name for himself as a royal correspondent and author but found himself at the centre of a scandal when his book Endgame was released in November 2023.
Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival has been described as a "penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy" – but what do we know about the man behind the controversial read?
Who is Omid Scobie and does he have a partner?
Omid Scobie is a journalist and writer who was born in July 1981.
He was born in Wales but later relocated to Oxford.
Scobie studied at the prestigious fee-paying Magdalen College School – whose alumni includes Skyfall director Sam Mendes.
He then went to state sixth form Cherwell School before studying journalism at the London College of Communication.
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Scobie has opened up about his dating life in the past and confirmed that he does not have a partner.
In an interview with the Sunday Times in November 2023 he stated he is "hopelessly single" but has a French bulldog named Yoshi for company.
What does Omid Scobie do for a living?
Scobie became a journalist and writer after completing his studies in Journalism at the London College of Communication
He has worked at publications like Heat magazine and US Weekly and has also been royal editor-at-large at Harper's Bazaar.
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Scobie has been a royal contributor at ABC News and has often appeared on Good Morning America, as well as hosting the network's royal podcast the HeirPod.
As an author he is best known for co-writing Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family – a biography by Scobie and Carolyn Durand that chronicled the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from their initial romance to their bombshell decision to leave the Royal Family.
The book was published in August 2020 by HarperCollins, sold more than 31,000 copies in five days and was number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list.
Finding Freedom claims to lay bare many private details about the Sussexes and their time as working royals, from the beginning of Harry and Prince William's alleged feud, to Meghan's struggle to adapt to her new life.
A 2022 High Court case was told that the Sussexes did brief favourable stories to Scobie for the book via an aide, despite their claims that they did not help him.
Does Omid Scobie know Meghan Markle and Prince Harry?
Scobie, who reportedly first met the Duchess of Sussex at Toronto Fashion Week in 2015, has been dubbed "Meghan's Cheerleader".
He has stated, however, that he is not a friend of Meghan's but does have "mutual friends with" the former Suits actress.
Scobie has met Meghan at least one time since their first encounter back in 2015.
He wrote a now-famous account of the Sussexes’ final engagement as working royals in 2020, where he was one of only three journalists invited.
In his retelling of the event, Scobie stated that Meghan offered him "a big farewell hug" beneath the "malachite candelabras" at Buckingham Palace.
What has Omid Scobie published?
As well as Finding Freedom, Scobie has written one other book – also about the Royal Family.
His second read, titled Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival, was released in the UK on November 28, 2023.
Scobie makes some shocking claims in Endgame, including that King Charles and his eldest son Prince William are headed for a rift.
The book also claims that Princess Kate and Meghan Markle last spoke in 2019 and states that the Palace lied by saying Camilla would not be Queen – despite Queen Elizabeth II saying it was her "sincere wish" in 2020.
What happened to the Dutch copy of Endgame?
Following Endgame's release in November 2023 it was reported that a Dutch translation of the book had "accidentally named" two members of the Royal Family, implying that they were racist.
In the English version of the book, Scobie writes that Meghan had named two members of the Royal Family who had "raised concerns" about her son Archie's skin colour while she was pregnant with him in letters to King Charles, but did not say who.
Meghan first shared her claims that somebody in her husband's family had "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born" during her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Scobie, who has said he knows the identity of the two Royals named by Meghan in her letters, states in the English version of Endgame that UK law prevents him from naming the individuals in question.
A version released in the Netherlands, which has since been taken off the shelves, however, reads: "In those private letters, an identity was revealed and confirmed" — before going on to name a senior royal.
A second member of the Royal Family is mistakenly named elsewhere in the translated book, with it also being implied that they are racist.
Scobie has said that no version of Endgame he has ever written included the names.
The Dutch version of the books which do name the Royal Family members have been ordered to be destroyed.
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TalkTV host Piers Morgan revealed the names of the Royals that appear in the book during his November 29 broadcast of Piers Morgan Uncensored.
He told his viewers: "…if Dutch people wandering into a book shop can pick it up and see these names, then you British people here who actually pay for the British Royal Family…You're entitled to know too."
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