The Dutch publishers of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame backtracked on his claims that they were responsible for identifying the ‘royal racists’ after he said they included the names in their translation

The Dutch publishers of Omid Scobie’s book End Game have hit back at his claims that they were responsible for two royals’ names being racist.

The author used a newspaper column to say that the publisher had been given one version of his book to work on, with the understanding that the translation would be updated for a final version.

But in a statement to MailOnline, the publisher disputed this and called him out, saying he was ‘factually incorrect’.

A spokesperson for publisher

‘Xander Uitgevers is not allowed to say anything about the content, so we refer to broker UTA.’

Scobie had initially denied revealing the names of the two royals in his much-criticized book.

One of the translators told MailOnline from her home in Arnhem that the names of the two royal families – King Charles and the Princess of Wales – were already included in the text she had to translate.

Scobie admitted it for the first time in a newspaper today column before the i that both names were in an early draft that he said was written “at lightning speed.”

He wrote: “To be clear, the only publisher I worked with directly was the US and UK publishers.

‘I spent almost two months with independent UK lawyers and in-house legal counsel to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight.’

He added: ‘Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and unclear text was provided to the Dutch publisher so that they could begin the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book . officially submitted’.

His statement, which seems to shift the blame to the Haarlem publishing house, is now being questioned by director Anke Roelen.

Copies of the Dutch version had to be removed from bookstores across the Netherlands, while an amended version goes on sale today.

It was drawn from the name Charles and Kate, because the royal family is said to have asked what color Prince Archie’s skin could be.

Mr Scobie said today: ‘To be clear, the only publisher I worked with directly was the one covering the United States and Britain. I spent almost two months with independent British lawyers and in-house legal advisors to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight.”

He added: ‘Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and unclear text was provided to the Dutch publisher so that they could begin the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book . officially submitted’.

The names of King Charles and the Princess of Wales only appeared in the Dutch version, with Mr Scobie swearing on his own life – and that of his family – that it was not a publicity stunt to sell more books.

The author has been described as Meghan’s mouthpiece, but neither she nor Harry have yet spoken out in defense of the royal family over particularly damaging allegations of racism.

In today’s column for the newspaper, titled ‘Endgame backlash shows how unwilling we are to confront racism’, Mr Scobie also called on King Charles to use his government to investigate the royal family’s links to slavery to deal with.

He said: ‘It chases away opportunities to meaningfully explore the royal institution’s historical links to slavery (and the impact its legacy has had on the country), or to have serious conversations about the inability of the royal institution to protect its only family member of color sends a clear message that the issues simply don’t matter’.

He added: “Rather than addressing everything properly as part of a genuine effort to modernize and better reflect the diverse country they serve, the Royal Family continues to cover up the issues, and more, under the carpet sweep.’

Scobie’s controversial new book sold just under 6,500 copies in Britain.

Endgame, a sequel to Scobie’s 2020 book Finding Freedom, dropped to 215th on Amazon’s bestseller list after just a week on shelves.

It was widely pilloried, even by normally sympathetic media such as the New York Times, which described one chapter as “like a press release concocted by ChatGPT.”

Most reactions to the book focused on the Dutch-language edition, which included the names of the two family members accused of “unconscious bias” by the Duchess of Sussex.

The book alleged that Meghan had mentioned both the king and his daughter-in-law Kate in letters she wrote to him about the matter.

Yet even this controversy did little to contribute to its success: Nielsen estimated UK sales figures for the first five days at 6,448.

By contrast, Scobie’s first book about the Sussexes, Finding Freedom, sold 31,000 in its first five days, while Harry’s autobiography Spare sold 467,183 copies – making it the fastest-selling non-fiction book since records began in 1998.

The book is now in the table behind activity book Things To Do While You Poo On The Loo and children’s titles such as Dormouse Has a Cold, the Beano Yearbook, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Stick Man.

Neither Harry nor Meghan commented publicly on the race, but a source close to the Duchess of Sussex said “it was not leaked to Mr Scobie by anyone in her camp.”

Meghan’s Hollywood relaunch is ‘not going to plan’ and may already have been thrown into disarray as the backlash caused by Scobie’s book could leave her ‘too hot to handle’, experts told MailOnline yesterday.

The Duchess recently signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) mega-agent Ari Emanuel, whose clients include Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, tennis star Serena Williams and other A-Listers.

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline that Endgame could be as dangerous to her career as Spare – her husband’s memoir – was to Prince Harry, claiming her reps in LA will fear she has ‘tarnished her reputation and possibly the reputation of its agency’.

Mr Ede believes Meghan could soon become ‘too hot to handle’ after the King and Kate were named in a Dutch version of the book as being at the center of the race allegations.

He also claimed that the Sussexes’ silence since the book came out makes Meghan appear ‘guilty by association’, despite vehement claims from Mr Scobie, an ally of the actress, and her friends that she had nothing to do with the book . .

Mr Ede said: ‘The book written by Omid Scobie is potentially an incendiary weapon for Meghan. Just as Harry’s own purpose for a book has proven for him, Scobie’s new book has unfortunately lit a fire that many thought would go out.

‘The problem for any major Hollywood agent is that they will find it difficult to navigate Meghan’s career for fear that more will come out over time and that, with lawsuits looming against her sister and possibly her father, she has tarnished her reputation and could potentially tarnish the reputation of her agency.”

He added: “In the right hands, Meghan is a superpower – the most famous woman in the world – and on paper she could make millions for herself and anyone who represents her.

‘But she turns out to be too hot to handle and, even though she hasn’t said anything about the book, she is guilty by association and this is damaging to her and others as she plots her next career move.’

PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that Meghan’s post-Spare relaunch is “clearly not going to plan.”

MailOnline contacted WME for comment.

The New York Post has reported claims that the publisher is ‘shocked’ at the damage Mr Scobie’s book may have done to the Sussexes’ rebranding.

An insider also told the Daily Mirror that WME is ‘annoyed’ by the ‘never-ending scandal’ surrounding the Sussexes.