Omid Scobie’s new book "Endgame" about the British royal family is meant to be shocking when, in fact, it's high camp fun and totally nuts without a shred of evidence to back up its claims. So, on that count… it works.
You know the world all needs escapism. We really do. And now, thankfully, we have it.
Yes, "Endgame" by self-styled royal author Scobie, has finally been released, but what do we know about this project and, more importantly, is it worth your hard-earned cash?
Now the bigger problem with the author is simply this. Previously, Scobie was caught lying about his age, shaving off six years, and claiming to be far younger than he really is. He is now over 40, but dresses like a K-Pop kid. There's nothing wrong with that. It’s a world of show business after all. Then, of course, there are his stellar credentials. Scobie claims he never had any assistance from any member of the royal family with his previous book, but we now know that's another claim that's turned out to be a huge lie.
So how can you take this seriously? This time around, though, Scobie is bravely going it alone as the sole author. That’s a little bit like Meghan and Harry running towards the drama, you know. With "Endgame" this is the true inside story… right?
I have to say I think author Scobie is very clever, indeed. Quite frankly, he’s made a publishing house give him lots of money to seemingly rewrite stories you could find anywhere, I mean anywhere, on the Internet.
There is nothing new in the book. What he’s done instead is that he’s crafted something that’s very much like a worn out Jackie Collins novel from the 1970s, with all the goodies, the baddies, the glitz, the glamour but without Collins' infinite substance.
What do we really learn from "Endgame?"
Meghan and Harry are just lovely people who apparently are misguidedly not being welcomed into the royal family. And not only that, the author tells us that he knows the identity of the two people who are the royal racists. Oh, yes. Well, no. Once again, Scobie rehashes another allegation that gets headlines but provides no actual backup.
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Now, if you like your news, well, you know, rehashed then "Endgame" is the book for you. The only thing that we allegedly find out from Scobie’s book, that the reader didn’t possibly know before its publication, is that the royal family faces possible extinction.
There is one laugh out loud moment though in the book and it’s this: Scobie claims that both Kate and Meghan were advised to dress more like the late and beautiful Princess Diana. Now there is simply one person who got on board with that advice. If anybody has copied Princess Diana’s style, her poses, and, of course, her image, then it would have to be Meghan Markle. It makes sense. After all, Meghan, according to Harry, now believes that she is a reincarnation of Diana. So why not dress like your deceased mother-in-law?
King Charles and Camilla come out of "Endgame" quite lightly and of course, the real daddy in all of this is none other than his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, Prince William. But then Harry had already done his very best backstabbing mode in his own book, "Spare."
What about Kate? Well, what we learn about her from Scobie is simply that she’s had some elocution lessons. And according to him, she also isn’t particularly keen on hard work. But when you compare the two – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, the Princess of Wales – and examine who’s done more royal engagements with greater success and an enduring quality, well again, Scobie’s thesis doesn’t particularly stack up that well.
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What one might suggest is simply this, that Scobie sat down and went through all the royal family headlines of the last two years and then decided how to put a dramatic spin on it. Most of these stories have already been covered in great detail and even, in the most boring way, in Prince Harry’s bestselling book, "Spare." If there were an award for tedium, then that book would win it…
We were told that Scobie is not friendly at all with Meghan and Harry, but then later on in "Endgame" he points out that Meghan called him to see how he was coping with the backlash from his first book across social media and in the public domain. So which is it? Are you a friend or are you not?
We know there’s a mass market for royal gossip, true or not. What you will find is that there are so many mistakes and loopholes in all of the stories. But there will still be a percentage of people who will truly believe it.
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Scobie’s "Endgame" is something that’s a little bit like "The Crown" on Netflix, but of course, there’s one thing that’s pivotal about this royal book. It will certainly make the alleged author very rich. No doubt he will start to look at other victims and decide exactly where we could put his poison pen next.
If you’re looking for a book that’s going to break some great royal ground or offer true insight into the inner workings of William or Catherine or, of course, the King and Queen Camilla, I can tell you, without a doubt, you're in the wrong place. There’s nothing new here.
Bottom line: I would say hats off to the author of "Endgame." You managed to make a little go a very long way. And yes, it will make you rich. You certainly won’t win a Pulitzer Prize for the book, but that was never the name of the game.
It’s a little bit like a close friend who is desperate to be famous, desperate to be talked about, and more importantly, desperate to be known. Finally, he’s achieved it, but at what cost? You can’t keep repeating the same old stories forever.
Frank Sinatra famously sang about love being lovelier the second time around ... but in the case of "Endgame," it's rather like a buffet that's made you feel stuffed, and you just can’t face it anymore.
Neil Sean writes frequently about the British royal family for Fox News Digital.
