The New York Times and more wrote critical reviews of a new book on the royal family, including a chapter on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which one review described as a "press release cooked up by ChatGPT."
The book, by Omid Scobie, is titled "Endgame," and picks up on the royal family after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A review, written by Eva Wolchover for the New York Times, said the book did Harry and Meghan "no favors."
"Whether or not Scobie actively collaborated with Meghan and Harry for this book, he does them no favors. Their chapter reads like a press release cooked up by ChatGPT, and does little to shed light on them as humans," the Times review read.
The review also said readers hoping for a "final death blow of gossip would be disappointed."
"He says the couple — who used to focus on coverage of themselves — now remain blissfully unconcerned. Harry’s next chapter will focus, among other things, on philanthropic efforts in the ‘military space,’ while Meghan (and here Scobie quotes an unnamed source) is building ‘something more accessible… something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures, and family,'" the review continued.
A review in The Independent, written by Anna Pasternak, said the book was "unfailingly sympathetic" to Harry and Markle.
"While Scobie is unfailingly sympathetic to the Sussexes – he does not hold them accountable for anything – he does not, as I had anticipated, demonize Charles or denounce Camilla. I was expecting something different – him possibly laying into evil monarch King Charles and wicked stepmother, Queen Camilla. The real royal villain here is William," Pasternak wrote.
The review notes the account of palace staff, who according to Scobie, believed Markle "deserved what was coming to her."
"This, Scobie explains, was down to a combination of her ‘not conforming with how women marrying into the family are expected to behave and certain individuals just being lazy,’" the review continued.
Both reviews noted Scobie's other book on the royals, specifically focused on Markle and Harry's decision to leave the royal family. Wolchover said his 2020 book on the royal couple "gave a sympathetic account of the couple’s exodus from Windsor, earning him the title of Sussex ‘mouthpiece.’"
Pasternak's review said the author "did not hold back" on the relationship between Prince William and King Charles.
"Scobie doesn’t hold back in his revelations that King Charles and Prince William are not as united as we may believe and behind the scenes 'long gone is that ‘lockstep’ narrative the Palace once pushed,' she wrote.
Scobie argues that the royal family risks "losing the crown," according to Wolchover.
"Unless Charles and his heirs act quickly, Scobie underscores, they risk losing the crown, or at the very least, any remaining cultural relevance. But there’s a paradox here: As long as people are buying books like Scobie’s, they’re buying the whole lousy operation," the Times review read.
