Why is ‘Piers Morgan royal racist’ trending?
PIERS MORGAN found himself at the centre of a social media storm after he spoke about the royal "racism" scandal caused by Omid Scobie's Endgame book.
The TalkTV host has never been one to shy away from giving his views on Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the monarchy - and the November 2023 controversy proved no different for the star.
Why is 'Piers Morgan royal racist' trending?
Former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan began trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with the term "royal racist" after he spoke about the "racism" scandal that made headlines following the release of Omid Scobie's book Endgame.
Following the book's release, it was reported that a translation of Scobie's book in the Netherlands had "accidentally named" a member of the Royal Family and implied that they were racist.
It was later claimed that a second Royal had also been named in a similar way.
The Royal "racism" scandal first began in 2021 when Prince Harry and Meghan sat down for with Oprah Winfrey.
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In the chat, which aired on ITV in the UK, Meghan alleged that an unnamed member of her husband's family had raised concerns about their son Archie's skin colour while she was pregnant.
Archie was born in 2019 and the former Suits actress claimed there had been "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born" but refused to name who had taken part in these conversations.
Prince Harry later denied that he and wife had accused any royals of racism, suggesting there had instead been "unconscious bias"
In Scobie's book, released in November 2023, he claims that Meghan named two members of the Royal Family she says took part in these conversations in private letters she wrote to King Charles but does not say who the two individuals are.
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The English version of the book states: "In the pages of these private letters, two identities were revealed. UK laws prevent me from reporting who they were."
The Dutch version, however, reads: "In those private letters, an identity was revealed and confirmed" — before going on to name a senior royal.
A second member of the Royal Family is mistakenly named elsewhere in the translated book, with it also being implied that they are racist.
The Dutch books that named the royals were removed from shelves and ordered to be destroyed and Scobie insisted he had never included names in any version of Endgame he had written.
Then, on November 29, 2023, Piers Morgan named the two Royal Family members in question on Talk TV's Piers Morgan Uncensored.
He told his audience: "I'm going to tell you names of the two royals who are named in that Dutch version of this book.
"Because frankly if Dutch people wandering into a book shop can pick it up and see these names, then you British people here who actually pay for the British Royal Family... You're entitled to know too.
"And then we can have a more open debate about this whole farrago.
"Because I don't believe any racist comments were ever made by any of the Royal Family.
"And until there is actual evidence of those comments being made I will never believe it.
"But now we can start the process of finding out if they ever got uttered, what the context was, and whether there was any racial intent at all.
"Like I say, I don't believe there was."
He then went on to reveal their names, leading to him trending online.
What is Omid Scobie's book Endgame: Inside The Royal Family And The Monarchy's Fight For Survival?
Endgame is described by publisher HarperCollins as "explosive" and a "penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy".
The book makes several bombshell claims, including that Meghan and Kate Middleton haven't spoken since 2019 and that King Charles and Prince William are on a "collision course to become rivals".
Scobie has written about the royals before and is the co-author of 2020's Finding Freedom, a book which chronicled Meghan and Harry's relationship from their initial romance to their decision to leave the UK and their roles in the monarchy.
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Ahead of Endgame's release it was reported that Meghan and Harry were "distancing" themselves from Scobie, who has previously worked as royal correspondent.
According to , the Sussexes deny having anything to do with the biography and do not want to be "affiliated" with it.