Omid Scobie tries to explain claims he ‘lied’ to The Times after it was reported he is 33 – when he is actually 38

THE author of a bombshell book on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has allegedly been caught out after claiming he was 33 – when he’s really 38.

Omid Scobie, who co-wrote Finding Freedom, has sparked confusion after he was reported to have told a journalist from The Times that he’s five years younger than his true age.

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The baffling claim surfaced as Scobie was interviewed in Tatler.

Scobie’s interview also revealed:

• Coronavirus is the “pause Prince Harry needed”
• Scobie doesn’t even know if Harry and Meghan like him – saying “there will always be that distance between the Sussexes and the press”
• He blames two NDAs for preventing him from giving the details on the dismissals of two Sussex staffers
• He claims Meghan Markle’s friends who didn’t want to be involved in Finding Freedom “changed their minds six months later” over how she had been treated
• Scobie revealed how he is a glutton for detail and got great scoops thanks to his “natural knack for lip reading”
• And he said he had to call the police over threats to burn his house down

During his chat with the magazine, the author said a profile by Times journalist Andrew Billen had given his age as just 33 – which led to criticism from readers who revealed he was older.

Scobie denied telling the journalist his age in that interview, and said: “I’m 38 years old, not 33.

“There’s a celebrity website that says I’m 30, there’s another website that says I’m 34 and one that says I’m 20.”

He also claimed Billen hadn’t asked his age, adding that the journalist was “trying to insinuate” that Scobie was the same age biographer Andrew Morton was when he wrote Diana: Her True Story.

“I can see what he was trying to do,” Scobie told Tatler.

However, the magazine checked the claim with Billen – who went through transcriptions of his interview with the author.

And Billen alleged that told him: “I’m 33, I just turned 33.”

According to the journalist, he replied: “Wow, Omid… congratulations.

“I was just checking: Andrew Morton published Diana’s…”

Scobie interrupted: “Oh, how old was he? “

Billen recorded himself replying: “He was 40”, to which Scobie said: “Oh, ok.

“Not that it’s a competition or anything.

“I’m a big fan of what he did.” 

Scobie co-authored the revealing book on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex which contained shocking details on how Meghan and Harry decided to leave the firm.

The book makes a series of claims about the couple’s lives, including that Meghan had to undergo SAS kidnap training after receiving an unusually high number of threats.

Meghan undertook the intense two-day security course – which all members of the Royal Family must take – much sooner than Duchess of Cambridge took hers.

It also alleges that Prince Harry was so keen to leave that he initially planned to reject the chance to return after 12 months.

The Queen reportedly wanted to offer Harry a trial period, giving him and Meghan the opportunity to return to the fold if they changed their mind.

But the Duke wanted to reject the proposal, the authors claim.

Meanwhile, it’s alleged Meghan felt people wanted her to serve her child “on a silver platter” after Archie was born – and Prince Harry was “delightfully surprised” when Meghan reportedly peed in the woods on their luxury camping trip in Botswana.

Scobie denied claims he interviewed the royal couple ahead of writing the book.

Buried in an “author’s note” at the back of the book is this admission: “We have spoken to close friends of Harry and Meghan, royal aides and palace staff (past and present), the charities and organisations they have built long-lasting relationships with and, when appropriate, the couple themselves.”

Scobie posted on Twitter: “Let’s make one thing clear.

“There’s a huge difference between exchanging a few words with a member of the Royal Family on an official engagement or tour to actually interviewing them.

“The amount of nonsense doing the rounds right now is unreal.”