Omid Scobie slams ‘irresponsible people’ for naming two royals in book, refuses to apologize
Royal author Omid Scobie refuses to apologize to the alleged two royals named in the Dutch version of his new book, saying the entire debacle has left him “frustrated.”
In the Dutch translation of Scobie’s biography, “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival,” the names of two senior royals who allegedly made a “racist” comment about the skin color of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son were revealed.
In an interview on BBC Newsnight Thursday, Scobie was given the chance to express his regret over the error, but instead said it’s “not fair” for people to expect an apology from him.
“It’s not for me to apologize because I still want to know what’s happened,” he told host Victoria Derbyshire.
The author, 42, said that the book he “was extremely proud of” has been “completely overshadowed by an event that’s caused me a lot of frustration.”
He insists that the naming and shaming fiasco is not a publicity stunt.
“There are irresponsible people in this country that have broken the law and repeated names that should never have been repeated,” he said. “The book I wrote, the book I edited, the book I signed off on, did not have names in it. I’m as frustrated as everyone else.”
Scobie, who claims his tell-all was legally “vetted” before publication, said a full investigation has been launched.
“So I’m looking forward to finding out more about it because the English version of the book — the only one I know — the version I signed off on, that’s the book that is out there today, that’s the book that has no names in it,” he explained.
“I make it very clear because ultimately to write the names it’s a show and tell situation, there’s no ability to show so there was never an attempt to name.”
Scobie this week blamed the ordeal on a “translation error,” however the translator responsible for the book’s Dutch version has since disputed his claim.
“As a translator, I translate what is in front of me,” Saskia Peeters told the Daily Mail. “The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do, and that was translate the book from English into Dutch.”
Peeters claimed the book’s pages were distributed between herself and a fellow translator to transcribe.
“I have been translating for many years,” she told the outlet. “This is the first time anything like this has happened.”
“This is not something I wanted to be involved in. This has been upsetting. I do not want to talk about it much more.”
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