‘Endgame’ Book Pulled From Shelves After Error Names Royal Behind Archie Skin Color Comments

The forthcoming book Endgame, an exploration of the current state of the British Royal Family, has been pulled from some shelves. PEOPLE reports that the book’s release will be delayed in the Netherlands. This is due to an error that led to revealing the names of the royal family members behind controversial skin color comments about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s oldest child, Archie.

Endgame was written by Omid Scobie and “chronicles both the breakdown of the royal family and the weakening of the modern monarchy.” PEOPLE noted that the English version of the book doesn’t name the family members, so it is unclear if the Dutch translation is incorrect or if the translation was based on a previous draft. In an exclusive statement to the outlet, Scobie said, “Having only written and edited the English version of Endgame, I can only comment on that manuscript – which does not name the two individuals who took part in the conversation. I’m happy to hear that the error in the translation of the Dutch edition is being fixed.”

The Dutch publishers called the situation an “error” and told PEOPLE, “The rectified edition of Eindstrijd by Omid Scobie will be in bookstores on Friday 8 December. Xander Uitgevers temporarily removed the book from sale, due to an error that occurred in the Dutch edition.” PEOPLE also stated that Buckingham Palace had no comment on the matter.

Harry and Markle have had a strained relationship with his family ever since the couple resigned from their Royal duties and did an interview with Oprah that revealed some shocking claims, such as the comments made about the color of their son Archie’s skin ahead of his birth. According to Markle and Harry, the senior Royals actively tried to deny their son Archie his royal birthright as a prince but never gave an official answer as to why. They elaborated that there were correlating conversations about “how dark” Archie’s skin color would be. 

Markle stated that “in the months when I was pregnant… we have in tandem the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.” Harry, however, was clear that these were not conversations he intended to ever speak of again. There was no mention of who the conversations were with. It wasn’t until later that speculation began regarding King Charles possibly being the one to make the comments, though this has since been denied by Buckingham Palace officials.