The Dutch journalist who first spotted the names of the two ‘royal racists’ in his country’s translation of Endgame says he is ‘auctioning his copy of the book for charity’

The Dutch royal journalist, who first noticed that two members of the royal family were branded as “royal racists” in the translated edition of Omid Scobie’s Endgame, has said he is “auctioning his copy for charity.”

Rik Evers, 36, has said that proceeds from the book’s proceeds, which have since been removed from shelves in the Netherlands, will go to a charity called Autersbond, the Dutch professional association for writers and translators.

Take to X, formerly known as Twitter, Rick said: “I’ve decided to have my copy of ENDGAME auctioned off for charity. It is one of the few films to have starred on British, American, Australian and Canadian television before it was banned.

‘Proceeds will go to @autersbond, in honor of the translators who unwittingly found themselves in a media storm.’

He later added: ‘Later this week the reprint of Endgame will be published by @XanderUitgevers, but without mention of the names involved, which were also missing in all other versions worldwide. A very special specimen. Bidding starts on Wednesday.’

The couple mentioned in the book were last week dubbed King Charles and Kate by media organizations around the world, including the Guardian and the Times.

Rick’s decision follows claims that Mr Scobie’s British agent sent a draft manuscript of Endgame naming the two ‘royal racists’, which needed to be translated into Dutch.

The revelation appears to undermine Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “cheerleader-in-chief” claim that he “never submitted a book that had those names in it.”

A source said The times that United Talent Agency had previously sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers, which included the names.

However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent, but it is clear that the translator had been working from an earlier version.

It comes after Scobie’s new book Endgame has already dropped out of Amazon’s top 100 current bestsellers, despite a slew of publicity in the first week of its release.

The title currently ranks 139th in the UK bestseller book list based on sales on Amazon, which are updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of each item.

Endgame has fallen more than 100 places in three days, after being in 14th place last Friday. On release day last Tuesday, it ranked 77th.

The book is now listed in the table behind children’s titles such as the Beano Yearbook, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Stick Man; biographies of Britney Spears, Matthew Perry and Chris Kamara; and cookbooks by Mary Berry, Rick Stein and Tom Kerridge.

In the same US Amazon chart today, Endgame ranked 235th – below The Very Hungry Caterpillar; the danger! 2024 calendar; and a Paw Patrol sounds book.

Amazon says its listings are a “good indicator of how well a product sells overall,” but “do not always indicate how well an item sells compared to similar items.”

The book’s declining performance comes despite a huge amount of media attention and TV interviews Mr Scobie conducted for the BBC and ITV in Britain and ABC in the US.

The author has also given interviews to publications including The Times, Evening Standard, Independent, Tatler, People, Elle.com and Paris March.

Meanwhile, the book was not prominently displayed in London’s oldest bookshop, Hatchards on Piccadilly – with only one copy set aside to order, reported The guard.

The newspaper added that around 14 copies were stacked on a table at the entrance to nearby Waterstones, but there was ‘limited interest’ there too.

Scobie is widely described as Meghan Markle’s mouthpiece, but neither she nor Prince Harry have yet spoken out in defense of the royal family over particularly damaging allegations of racism.

The Dutch translation of the book is named after Charles and Kate, because the royal family is said to have asked what color Prince Archie’s skin could be before he was born.

King Charles III is expected to consult Prince William this week to discuss their response to the storm, after Buckingham Palace said it is “considering all options” when it comes to a response.

The Sussexes have not commented publicly on the race, but a source close to Meghan said “it was not leaked to Mr Scobie by anyone in her camp.”

Yesterday it also emerged that the Dutch edition of Endgame quoted a source close to the Sussexes who branded William ‘heartless’ – another inflammatory passage not included in the British version.

Referring to claims that the Prince of Wales had secured a flight to Balmoral without Harry as the Queen lay dying, the translation quoted the following source: ‘It was callous to deny him the opportunity to go to Scotland to say goodbye his grandmother. This was not the time to be petty.”

A ‘family source’ also claims that William ‘deliberately ignored’ Harry when the Queen died and ‘didn’t want to help him’, according to the Dutch edition.

It said: ‘He was and still is angry because Harry revealed private matters… He finds that unforgivable.’

The Dutch version also refers to the king’s ‘cash for honours’ scandal last year, with a ‘source’ saying that ‘people within the institution are concerned that ‘more stories will follow’.’

None of these claims appeared in the English version, The Sun reported on Sunday.

It comes after Meghan admitted under oath that she authorized a senior aide to brief Scobie about his previous book about the Sussexes, called Finding Freedom.