William acting like king already, Royal author

THE relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry has been strained for a long time, but according to a new book by royal expert Omid Scobie, their father Prince Charles is also not on good terms with his eldest son.

In his book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, which will be released on Tuesday, November 28, Scobie claims that William, 41, is acting like he is already the king, while Charles, 75, is still trying to establish his own legacy as the monarch. William “knows his father’s reign is only transitional … and is acting accordingly,” Scobie writes in excerpts published by London’s The Times on Saturday, November 25.

Charles ascended to the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96 in September 2022. He was crowned in May 2023, with both William and Harry, 39, attending the ceremony. However, Scobie says that the father and son duo have not worked together on any projects since then, and are instead “working in silos.”

“They’ve had to put up this united front against Harry and Meghan,” Scobie quotes another royal expert, Christopher Andersen, as saying.

“They’ve been insulted by members of their own family. It’s been quite the ordeal for them, and I think that they kind of circled the wagon, so to speak. And they’ve come out of that with a stronger bond.”

But Scobie disagrees and argues that Charles and William have different approaches to dealing with Harry, who left the royal family with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020.

In their explosive interview with CBS in March 2021, Harry and Meghan accused an unnamed royal of raising concerns about the skin color of their son Archie before he was born. Scobie reveals that Charles spoke to the couple and agreed not to mention the incident in Harry’s memoir, Spare, or the Netflix documentary series, Harry & Meghan.

“The fact that [Charles] engaged in a conversation about it shows a lot more of a willingness to take some of these issues on than Prince William, for example, who has completely avoided talking to his brother whatsoever,” Scobie says.

Scobie also alleges that William is “hot-headed” and “increasingly comfortable with the Palace’s dirty tricks and the courtiers who dream them up.” He claims that William has used his allies in the media and his staff to smear Harry over the years.

“The side of it that a lot of people don’t know, or within our industry have known but chosen not to report, is just how involved William has been in many of the things that have gone out about his own brother,” Scobie says.

Scobie also cites an insider who told him that William believes that Harry has been “brainwashed” by an “‘army of therapists’” and that he “no longer even recognizes” his brother.

Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival is Scobie’s second book about the royals, after Finding Freedom, which he co-authored with Carolyn Durand in 2020.