by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “overrunning” the foundations of the monarchy through their role in allegations of racism against the King and Princess of Wales, the former head of royal protection has said.
Dai Davies, a former Metropolitan Police division commander who worked closely with Queen Elizabeth and senior members of the Royal Family, said the “false narrative” being created about the King and Princess’ alleged comments could Wales to harm the institution.
Prince Harry and Meghan remained silent after naming his father and sister-in-law when the royals allegedly made comments about their unborn child’s skin colour.
Their identity first emerged in the Dutch translation of the book Endgame by Omid Scobie, which was then reported by news organizations around the world.
Mr Davies, who was responsible for royal protection until he retired, told the Telegraph: “Prince Harry and Meghan and those who purport to speak for them are slowly damaging the status of the royal family.
“A false story about Palace racism is being spread. It’s not at all unusual to ask what a baby will look like.”
He added: “What the Duke and Duchess are doing is giving comfort to those who want to replace and get rid of the monarchy. They are eroding the foundations of the institution.
“If the King and what he stands for is not respected, everything else around him is falling apart.”
Pressure is now mounting on the Sussexes to publicly distance themselves from Mr Scobie’s book to limit any potential damage to the monarchy.
Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, said: “It’s interesting that they haven’t come out and denied the allegations in the book and the allegations that they were involved in writing it.
“Most people want to say, ‘It has nothing to do with us’ to distance themselves from the book.
“I would advise them to make a personal statement saying that they had nothing to do with this book and the unpleasant rumor and negativity it contains.”
Dickie Arbiter, a former press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth, said: “It’s a bit rich that the Sussexes are keeping quiet now. They were previously at pains to say that the alleged names were not to be revealed.
“You’d think they’d say something now, to extricate themselves from this mess, although it’s probably too late for that now.”
Sources close to the Sussexes have previously insisted that the Duke and Duchess did not say the comments, or the people who made them, were “racist”.
Earlier this year Prince Harry said he considered the comments to be an example of “unconscious bias”.
But commentators suggest that the Duke and Duchess could be damaging their own brand as they look to be involved in the ongoing spin on the Royal family.
Ms Seward said: “It’s looking bad for the Sussexes. Their popularity is growing by the day.”
She said the Palace was right not to respond to the claims in Mr Scobie’s book, saying: “The monarch says nothing and has worked. I can’t see Charles or the Palace commenting on this because it would only make things worse.”
The exact nature of the comments the Royals allegedly made about Prince Archie is still unknown. The claims were first made by the Duke and Duchess themselves in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Meghan told Winfrey that the Duke had “concerns and conversations” about how dark their first child’s skin might be.
She did not name the family member, saying at the time: “I think that would hurt them a lot.”
In “Endgame”, Mr. Scobie writes that there were “some conversations” in the family, apart from herself [Meghan] and Harry, who expressed ‘concern’ about what color her unborn son Archie’s skin might be and ‘what that would mean or look like’.”
Mr Scobie told James O’Brien’s podcast on Saturday that the use of the word “concern” suggested the conversation went beyond simple curiosity about what traits Archie would inherit.
The Dutch translation of the book named the King and, in a separate chapter, the Princess of Wales as those involved in the conversation.
The names did not appear in the English edition of the book when it was released on Tuesday, and Mr Scobie included a section in which he said he could not name them under UK law.
The King is understood to be treating the situation “very seriously” and is said to be likely to consult senior advisers next week on the next step of the Royal family, with “all options” including legal action to consider.
Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex, who is alleged to have written the names of the two family members in letters to King Charles, have insisted she “never intended to identify them publicly” and denies leaking their subject to Mr. Scobie with anyone in his camp.
The Dutch translators who worked on the volume say that both names were in the manuscript given to them.
Saskia Peeters told MailOnline last week: “I didn’t add them. I just did what I was paid to do and translated the book from English to Dutch.”
High society snub for Sussexes
It comes as it was reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been left off the invitation list for Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster’s wedding next summer.
Although the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales will be at a high society event at Chester Cathedral in June, Prince Harry has been excluded from his friend’s wedding, according to The Sunday Times.
It is said to be to avoid conflict between Prince William and Harry, the newspaper reports, also claiming that the Duke of Westminster is the grandfather of the two brothers’ children.
