So how much of a helping hand DID royal authors get?
THEY all insist that there were no interviews and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not contribute to Finding Freedom – but questions remained last night about how the authors managed to secure such access and detail about the couple and their lives.
Intriguingly, co-author Omid Scobie recently described how he ‘hugged’ Meghan during an emotional farewell in March just hours before she quit Britain and has also boasted of enjoying a ‘one-on-one’ discussion with Harry.
The Sussexes, who now live in California, attempted to distance themselves from the book.
A spokesman said that the couple ‘were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom’, adding: ‘The book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.’
In an interview with The Times, Mr Scobie appeared to choose his words carefully when he was quizzed about the level of access, if any, that was granted to him and Ms Durand. ‘The book doesn’t claim to have any interviews with Harry and Meghan. And nor do we,’ he said.
Asked whether there had been an ‘off-the-record’ discussion, he said: ‘You’ve read the book. There’s no on-the-record interviews with the couple.’ Pressed again on the same question, he replied: ‘No, and I think that you can tell from the reporting, my time around the couple is enough for me to know my subjects.’
Mr Scobie, 39, has not previously been shy to discuss the access to the couple that he has enjoyed as a royal reporter.
Writing in American magazine Harper’s Bazaar in March, he described covering the Sussexes ‘farewell tour’ in February and March before they left the UK for their new life in North America. He detailed how he ‘joined the Duke of Sussex in Edinburgh’ on February 26 for a summit on sustainable and ethical tourism.
‘Chatting with him one-on-one recently I was struck by how knowledgeable he has become in this field,’ Mr Scobie said. ‘As one of the attendees at the Edinburgh work summit whispered to me after his speech, “He’s about to change the game for good.”’
Mr Scobie was also one of three journalists invited to cover Meghan’s penultimate Royal engagement on March 9 when she met 22 students who had received scholarships from the Association of Commonwealth Universities at Buckingham Palace. The meeting, held in the 1844 Room, took place shortly before Harry and Meghan attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey where the frosty atmosphere between the couple and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was clearly evident.
Mr Scobie described hugging Meghan during emotional scenes at Buckingham Palace before the couple left for the Abbey.
‘Back at Buckingham Palace, the ACU students now en-route to Westminster Abbey and Harry quietly slipping through the door to say hello, the reality – and the emotions – finally set in as I give Meghan a goodbye hug,’ he said.
‘She’s flying back to Canada on the last commercial flight of the day, eager to be back in Vancouver Island by the morning before Archie wakes up.’
He added: ‘At this point, the 1844 Room is almost empty and tears that the Duchess had been bravely holding back are free to flow among familiar faces.’ It is unclear if any private conversations that Mr Scobie may have shared with the couple are included in Finding Freedom. However, some passages do include quotations from comments that the couple have told ‘friends’.
For example, one section has Harry telling a friend: ‘I don’t need to have that movie moment where we get out of a car and wave to a hundred photographers before going into a building.’
Another describes how Harry’s ‘stomach tied into the same knot’ every time he read critical or offensive comments posted about him and his wife in response to newspaper articles.
The book also quotes Harry saying: ‘It’s a sick part of the society we live in today, and no one is doing anything about it. Where’s the positivity? Why is everyone so miserable and angry?’
In another passage, Meghan is reported as ‘tearfully’ telling a ‘friend’ in March: ‘I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It’s very sad.’
While Harry and Meghan have publicly distanced themselves from the book, there is as yet no hint that the couple – who have increasingly made use of lawyers to control what they consider to be media intrusion – plan to take legal action against the authors and publishers of Finding Freedom.