SARAH VINE: Royal biographer Omid Scobie may be a leech… but Harry’s betrayal was so much worse

In his venomous new royal biography, Omid Scobie – widely regarded as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s unofficial mouthpiece – claims the Princess of Wales spent more time ‘talking’ about her sister-in-law Meghan than she ever actually spoke. her.

Hmm. I wonder where he got that idea from? And if anything, the same could be said about Meghan. She spent only a few years in the Royal group (even less time as a working Royal) before turning around on those excellent ankles of hers, calling the whole lot a bunch of racist, old-fashioned bullies and, along with her husband Harry, her stories scourge of woe for the highest bidder.

In other words, she stayed just long enough to receive the dresses, jewelry, titles, and cachet—but not long enough to really get to know any of the family.

Scobie’s new book, whose title, Endgame, sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise (and who knows, maybe it still is) isn’t on the bookshelves yet and its most striking details are already making headlines.

In no particular order: Meghan told King Charles there are two “royal racists” who talked about her son Archie’s skin color; Meghan decided not to attend the coronation because she “didn’t want to dive back into the court soap opera” (how magnanimous of her); the Duke and Duchess sent Christmas presents to children in Wales but received no thank you message; and Charles told other members of the royal family not to trust Harry after the publication of his memoir, Spare. Beef, beef and a side dish of beef, with lots of lollipop as afters.

And that’s the point, isn’t it? The lollipop. For as much as people like Scobie – and perhaps the Sussexes themselves – would like to see this book and others like it as noble exercises in truth-telling, the truth is that they are merely milking our most famous institution for the ax to grind. money.

From Crawfie (aka Marion Crawford, the late queen’s governess, whose book The Little Princesses was the first written by a former employee to lift the lid on palace life) to Netflix’s The Crown via Andrew Morton, Princess Diana’s butler Paul Burrell, Scobie et al., the amount of money – not to mention careers and reputations – made by insiders from revealing details of the British Royal Family’s most intimate moments is astonishing. And it is, not to put too much emphasis on it, very unedifying.

That’s not to say the public doesn’t have a right to know what the royal family is up to – they are public servants, after all. But there’s a big difference between biographies and documentaries – like those put together by the estimable Robert Hardman of The Mail – which detail their public roles, and those others that just try to create drama and gossip.

The Royal Family are not just celebrities, they are part of a long-standing and respected institution that for many people still stands for the increasingly rare values ​​of dignity, duty and discretion.

It is extremely tiring to see them endlessly challenged in this way for the sake of profit.

Of course, in some cases the Royals themselves brought this on by spilling the beans: Princess Diana worked with Morton on Diana: Her True Story and gave that interview to Martin Bashir, although it turned out to have been obtained under false pretenses. But in many ways, Diana can be forgiven. She was so young and naive when she married Prince Charles and had very little support or preparation for the role. Her indiscretions were cries for help, not attempts to injure.

Prince Harry is different. Unfortunately, he has turned out to be the ultimate self-destructive Royal. That interview with Oprah, the Netflix documentary, his autobiography, a big basket of dirty royal laundry sold to the highest bidder.

Things might be different if Harry was at least honest about this. But no. He wants it both ways: to be Royal, but also to rake in the royalties.

While people like Omid Scobie are annoying bloodsuckers, Harry is much worse. The people he uses to line his pockets are his own flesh and blood. Therefore, his betrayal was a dagger in the heart of the late queen. It is also why he is still a great source of pain to his father, the king. And that is why his brother, the Prince of Wales, is rightly furious with him.

Harry has inflicted on them all the torture he accuses others of inflicting on him. Yet he still has the audacity to cast himself as the victim.

New figures show a sharp rise in migration, causing headaches for the Conservatives. This is also a problem for Labour, which while keen to tackle ‘Tory failures’, also doesn’t want to upset its own voters, many of whom want more open borders. What is certain is that the consequences of uncontrolled migration are the cause of the worrying rise of the extreme right in countries such as the Netherlands. In politics, as in life, you have to work with the facts, not with fantasy. And the truth is that when migrants are seen as a problem, extremists win – and we all lose.

The BBC is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. His most famous opponents are of course the Daleks. But most terrifying are the weeping angels, who stalk the victims in a demonic version of Grandmother’s Footsteps. Iconic.

Restauranteur Russell Norman, who has died aged 57, will be remembered for resurrecting possibly the deadliest cocktail of all time, the Negroni. He was also behind the popularity of the Aperol Spritz, which when I was growing up in Italy was seen as boring, the Italian equivalent of Babycham. Now it’s hipsters everywhere and Gen Zers like my daughter, who practically live off the stuff. RIP Russell. I hope you enjoy a cold one in heaven.

Restauranteur Russell Norman, who has died aged 57, will be remembered for reviving perhaps the deadliest cocktail of all time, the Negroni.

I would send the extremists into exile

Another weekend, another ‘peaceful’ pro-Palestinian protest and a pile-up of anti-Semitic comments. Particularly chilling was a banner reading “Muslim armies! Save the people of Palestine,” signed Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain. The goal of this Islamic fundamentalist organization is the destruction of the entire liberal democracy. The leader of the British wing, who the MoS revealed was a GP in Harrow, Greater London, has described the October 7 Hamas attacks as a “very welcome punch on the nose” for Israel. Make no mistake: there is nothing “peaceful” about this outfit. Not only should it be banned, but its members should also be exiled to countries that have Sharia law – take your pick from Afghanistan, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and several others – where they will presumably be happy living unencumbered by the freedoms we all enjoy.

Why Jungle Jamie gets my vote

Most eyes in the Celeb jungle were on Nigel Farage (and his bum). But I enjoy watching Britney Spears’ younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. Not just because she’s caught some attention from campmate Sam Thompson, but also because of her sunny, can-do attitude and southern manners. Anyone who read Britney’s recent autobiography would have thought Jamie Lynn would be the biggest bitch in the jungle. That dubious award obviously goes to influencer Nella Rose.

Most eyes in the Celeb jungle were on Nigel Farage (and his bum). But I enjoy watching Britney Spears’ younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears

In today’s YOU, Tom Parker Bowles tackles an essential topic for this time of year: perfect roast potatoes. He notes that the king, his stepfather, likes his beef dripped. My grandmother dusted them with flour, according to Mrs. Beeton. For me it is essential to pre-cook them and then let all the steam evaporate to make them super crispy.

A newborn baby can’t identify himself, so why are staff at a London hospital registering him based on his ‘gender identity’? I can give two explanations: illiteracy or they succumbed to idiot woke-ism. In both cases the staff must be dismissed.

Eleanor Tomlinson, aka Poldark’s Demelza, says she is reluctant to film nude scenes for fear they will end up ‘online forever’. Fortunately, her co-star Aidan Turner has no such reservations.