Omid Scobie's New Book - PART 2

[Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar]

I'm not sure what is the correct etiquette for carrying on a thread, but here we are. Thanks to @BoxedandRibboned for the original thread.

Original thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/4935714-omid-scobies-new-book?page=40&reply=131041571

@PurplePansy05 thank you for your review. Does Scobie cover Uncle Andrew at all?

A version error? 😂

Good Morning Britain, including a clip of Scobie talking to Dutch journalists yesterday (6mins) - grinning like a Cheshire Cat, rather than looking truly shocked that this has happened; and Rick Evers at 10 mins. In this interview he's saying there are 5 extra lines of text in the Dutch version rather than 2 paras (he said that in a different interview). He also says something about OS using the term "production" for the manuscript - clearly thinks this is a bit suss .

I bet there’s someone somewhere on Mumsnet who has deer stalked with a newborn strapped to their front.
Come to think of it I can imagine Zara doing that.

Grouse season starts mid August..

What I find interesting about the whole episode is that the Sussexes were very loud and clear about the person in question not being the late QE or Prince Philip while the late Queen was still alive. Funny how the accusation was downgraded from alleged racism to unconscious bias when members of the RF received promotions when the previous Head of State passed away. Couldn’t be that it was realised that a close relationship with the new boss had to be cultivated, could it 🤔

Oh it's becoming obvious that this was all deliberate to get publicity for the book. Get the names out there in countries where British law doesn't apply so the RF can't sue.

KC is a fool if he has anything to do with Meghan and shares anything other than small talk with Harry. It boils down to he trusted Meghan enough to write letters to her and she didn't give a fuck and just revealed them to OS. He was just about bright enough not to actually quote them so he couldn't be sued for copyright.

@AutumnCrow Yes, there's a full chapter dedicated to PA and I would say this chapter does come across well researched. Also the chapter about race makes for an uncomfortable reading for the BRF, I think, and it's actually a shame that the focus is on name dropping, not on the actual issues he writes about which are a lot wider.

Brilliant. At four months one is sooo much more into lunch at Club 55 and eyeing up totty on the beach.

Thanks for the link @Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar

How interesting that they picked up on him saying he couldn’t legally say things ‘in the UK…’

Brilliant. At four months one is sooo much more into lunch at Club 55 and eyeing up totty on the beach.

Presumably where one also learned the importance of having to hydrate .

I was wondering if the rf should still “grey rock”. It must be so hard.

Obviously Harry is Charles’s son and I suppose he will always hope for reconciliation. But if this situation were an in-laws thread on MN and Catherine were the OP, posters would be demanding that William intervened.

The only thing is the book is so one-sided and spiteful that only the die-hard fans will enjoy it, and judging by their reticence to get involved, they may well think the book will backfire on H&M.

I am absolutely sure that the RF will continue to "grey rock" if by that you mean that they will make no comments at all.

I am all OVER the grey rock approach. Not least because it’s almost certainly annoying the hell out of the Sussexes and Scobie.

I hope they still don't comment. But if the racism stuff is repeated in the UK I wouldn't blame them for suing.

Agreed. The more they try to provoke a reaction the better the approach works. They definitely need to stay quiet. I appreciate it must be hard when people are throwing about all kinds of baseless allegations about you but staying silent on the issue is definitely the best and smartest move.

Re: your first point, British law doesn't come into it. You can sue abroad under each country's libel laws. So, if I was defamed by an Australian publication, I'd just sue there. Kate and William sued Closer in France, etc. So, naming the two Royals in Holland doesn't let Scobie off the hook legally, hence why the book is now being pulped, because they know it's libellous.

So the RF could sue OS in the Netherlands? Surely he should be shitting himself?

What about breach of privacy and copyright (regarding the letters) in the Netherlands?

I'd love to see a court case where he had to reveal his 'sources'.

Thank you, how interesting.

I have wondered for a while whether H maintained any kind of relationship with Uncle Andrew, given H's closeness to Eugenie and Beatrice. The 'House of York' does sometimes appear to be one entity, in a number of ways, not least the living arrangements - and the four Yorks are all very close, and H is supposedly close to E & B.

It all seems very swept under the carpet.

Yes! I hope he's got personal indemnity insurance.

My view is that they are aiming primarily at the American audience and America's acceptance of PH and MM as heroic royals in exile, cementing their reputation and money making opportunities there (with OS, who has also moved there, as their court jester in residence).

The First Amendment (which, ironically PH thinks is bonkers and is trying to destroy) would have allowed OS to publish the names without the risk of a libel suit, but he knows this would look bad from a PR point of view - and in any event, the concept of where something is "published" is a bit nebulous, thanks to the internet and social media. The Dutch "mistake" was the perfect vehicle to get it out there. The US left leaning media will give him a sympathetic ride, I am sure. I'll be interested to see if he's on Gayle King's new show that I believe starts today.

(As an amusing aside, the owner of the Kitson Store in LA - where all the celebs shop, and who have H&M in their holiday hypocrites window this year - says that when he used to sell Team W&K and Team H&M shirts, the W&K ones outsold the H&M ones 20 to 1. So maybe H&M&O have a bit of work to do yet!)

It's an interesting point, but I'm not sure it qualifies as breach of copyright because OS didn't reproduce any of the text, unlike what the DM did with MM's letter to her dad. Privacy could be a possibility.

Yes! I hope he's got personal indemnity insurance.

Or has insurance in another form…

It may depend on how much he has been told/knows.

If it all gets too tricky he could sing like a lintie.