‘Royal summit’ on book storm
King to meet William... as the Sussexes remain silent on race claims
THE KING put on a brave face as he attended church with Queen Camilla yesterday as the Sussexes stayed silent over Omid Scobie’s incendiary new book.
Charles was seen wrapped in a long tan coat and thick gloves with matching brown shoes on a frosty morning in Sandringham, Norfolk, having just returned from the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai.
He appeared contemplative striding up the famous church path beside Camilla as yet more hurtful claims emerged from Scobie’s book, Endgame. An aide was seen rushing ahead of the King and Queen towards the church carrying a tartan-covered cushion.
Charles has long suffered from back pain, aggravated by several nasty falls on the polo field, and cannot sit for long without support.
The author has been widely described as Meghan’s mouthpiece – but neither she nor Harry has so far spoken up in defence of his family over highly damaging accusations of racism.
The Dutch translation of the book has been pulled after it named Charles and Kate as the royals alleged to have asked what colour Prince Archie’s skin might be before he was born.
A source close to the family urged the Sussexes to speak out to defend the King and the Princess of Wales.
‘For the couple that talked about “death by a thousand no comments”, the silence at this point is deafening,’ they told The Daily Telegraph.
The King 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.
But it is understood that a formal meeting is not yet in the diary.
A source told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Discussions [have been] had, and we’ll continue those discussions this week, but not in a crisis talks manner...
‘Decisions [will be] made with care and time and professionalism rather than rushed over a weekend.’
The Sussexes have not commented publicly on the race row but a source close to Meghan said ‘it was not leaked to Mr Scobie by anyone in her camp’.
It emerged yesterday that the Dutch edition of Endgame quoted a source close to the Sussexes who branded William ‘heartless’ – another inflammatory passage that is not in the UK version.
Referring to claims that the Prince of Wales secured a flight to Balmoral without Harry when the Queen was dying, the translation cited the source as saying: ‘It was heartless to deny him the chance to go to Scotland to say goodbye to his grandmother. This was not the time to be petty.’
A ‘family source’ also claims that William ‘ purposely ignored’ Harry when the Queen died and ‘ didn’t want to help’ him, according to the Dutch edition.
It said: ‘ He was, and is, still angry because Harry revealed private issues... He thinks that is unforgivable.’
The Dutch version also refers to the King’s ‘ cash for honours’ scandal last year, with a ‘ source’ saying ‘people inside the institution are concerned that “more stories will follow”.’
None of these claims appeared in the English version, The Sun on Sunday reported.
It comes after Meghan admitted under oath that she authorised a senior aide to brief Scobie for his earlier book about the Sussexes, called Finding Freedom.
‘This was not the time to be petty’