SARAH VINE: Royal biographer Omid Scobie may be a leech… but the treachery of Harry was so much worse

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

Hmm. I wonder where he got that idea from? And in any case, arguably the same could be said about Meghan. She passed just a few years in the Royal fold (even less time as a working Royal) before turning on those exquisite ankles of hers, declaring the whole lot a bunch of racist, outdated bullies and, along with her husband Harry, flogging her tales of woe to the highest bidder.

In other words, she stayed just long enough to bag the frocks, jewels, titles and the cachet – but not long enough to really get to know any of the family.

Scobie’s new book, whose title, Endgame, sounds like some Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise (and who knows, it may yet be one), isn’t on the bookshelves yet and already the salient details are making headlines.

In no particular order: Meghan told King Charles there are two ‘Royal racists’ who spoke about her son Archie’s skin colour; Meghan decided against attending the Coronation as she didn’t want to ‘dive back into the soap opera of the court’ (how magnanimous of her); the Duke and Duchess sent Christmas presents to the Wales children, but didn’t receive a text by way of thank you; and Charles told other members of the Royal Family not to trust Harry following the publication of his memoir, Spare. Beef, beef and a side order of beef, with loads of lolly for afters.

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

And that’s the point, isn’t it? The lolly. Because however much people such as Scobie – and, maybe, the Sussexes themselves – might want to frame this book and others like it as noble exercises in truth-telling, the truth is that they are just milking our most famous institution for axe-grinding 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 life in the Palace) 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 – that has been made by insiders from revealing details of the British Royal Family’s most intimate moments is astonishing. And it is, not to put too fine a point on it, deeply unedifying.

That’s not to say that the public don’t have a right to know what the Royal Family gets up to – after all, they are public servants. But there’s a big difference between biographies and documentaries – such as those curated by the Mail’s estimable Robert Hardman – that detail their public roles, and those others that seek only to create drama and gossip.

The Royal Family are not mere celebrities, they are part of a longstanding and revered institution which, for many people, still stands for the increasingly rare values of dignity, duty and discretion.

It’s extremely tiresome to see them endlessly traduced like this for the sake of profit.

Of course, in some cases the Royals bring it on themselves by spilling the beans: Princess Diana collaborated with Morton on Diana: Her True Story, and gave that interview to Martin Bashir, although it turned out to have been obtained by false pretences. 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 wound.

Prince Harry is different. He has sadly turned out to be the ultimate self-destructive Royal. That Oprah interview, the Netflix documentary, his autobiography, which was one big basket of dirty Royal laundry sold to the highest bidder.

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

Whereas the likes of Omid Scobie are annoying leeches, Harry is much worse. The people he is using to line his pockets are his own flesh and blood. That is why his betrayal was a dagger in the heart of the late Queen. It is also why he continues to be a great source of agony for his father, the King. And it is why his brother, the Prince of Wales, is rightly furious with him.

Harry has inflicted upon them all the very tortures he accuses others of inflicting on him. Yet still he has the gall to cast himself as victim.

New figures show a sharp rise in migration, creating a headache for the Conservatives. This is also a problem for Labour, which, while keen to attack ‘Tory failures’, also doesn’t want to upset its own voters, many of whom want more open borders. What’s certain is that the effects of uncontrolled migration are behind the worrying rise of the far Right in countries such as the Netherlands. In politics, as in life, you must work with the facts, not the fantasy. And the truth is that when migrants are perceived as a problem, extremists win – and we all lose out. 

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

Restauranteur Russell Norman, who’s died aged just 57, will be remembered for reviving possibly the most lethal 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 naff, the Italian equivalent of Babycham. Now it’s the tipple of hipsters everywhere and Gen Zers such as my daughter, who practically live on the stuff. RIP Russell. I hope you’re enjoying a cold one in Heaven. 

Restauranteur Russell Norman, who’s died aged just 57, will be remembered for reviving possibly the most lethal cocktail of all time, the Negroni 

I’d send the extremists into exile

Another weekend, another ‘peaceful’ pro-Palestine protest and an assemblage of anti-Semitic slurs. Particularly chilling was a banner saying ‘Muslim armies! Rescue the people of Palestine’, signed Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain. The aim of this Islamic fundamentalist organisation is the destruction of all liberal democracy. The leader of its UK wing, who the MoS revealed was a GP in Harrow, Greater London, has described Hamas’s October 7 attacks as a ‘very welcome punch on the nose’ to Israel. Make no mistake, there’s nothing ‘peaceful’ about this outfit. Not only should it be banned but its members ought to be exiled to countries that have Sharia law – take your pick from Afghanistan, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and several others – where presumably they’ll be delighted to live unencumbered by the freedoms we all enjoy. 

Why Jungle Jamie gets my vote 

Most eyes on the Celeb jungle have been on Nigel Farage (and his bottom). But I’m enjoying watching Britney Spears’s younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears. Not only because she’s taken a bit of a shine to campmate Sam Thompson but for her sunny can-do attitude and Southern manners. Anyone who’s read Britney’s recent autobiography would have thought Jamie Lynn would be the biggest brat in the jungle. That dubious accolade, of course, goes to influencer Nella Rose. 

Most eyes on the Celeb jungle have been on Nigel Farage (and his bottom). But I’m enjoying watching Britney Spears’s younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears

In today’s YOU, Tom Parker Bowles tackles an essential topic for the time of year: perfect roast potatoes. He notes that the King, his stepfather, likes his done in beef dripping. My grandma dusted them in flour, as per Mrs Beeton. For me, it’s vital to parboil them and then let all the steam evaporate to make them super-crisp. 

A newborn baby cannot self-identify, so why do staff at a London hospital record them according to their ‘gender identity’? I can offer two explanations: illiteracy or they’ve succumbed to idiotic woke-ism. In either case, the staff should be sacked. 

Eleanor Tomlinson, aka Demelza of Poldark fame, says she’s reluctant to film nude scenes for fear of them ending up ‘online for ever’. Thankfully, her co-star Aidan Turner has no such reservations. 

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