Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival
Omid Scobie
Endgame , the explosive book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, is a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy—an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family. Queen Elizabeth II’s passing ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor—and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world. more
416 pages, Hardcover
First published Dey Street Books
3.31
Rating
3328
Ratings
390
Reviews
Omid Scobie
4 books 115 followers
British journalist and writer best known for co-authoring the book Finding Freedom. Scobie's work focuses on the British royal family.Community reviews
Omid Scobie paints a one-sided and biased picture of the royal family, presenting Harry and Meghan as victims of a ruthless institution while portraying the rest of the family as uncaring and prejudiced. Scobie's narrative is heavily skewed towards Harry and Meghan's perspective, relying heavily on anonymous sources and unverifiable anecdotes. He paints the couple as martyrs who have been unfairly treated by the palace, while downplaying or outright dismissing any criticism of their actions. The book's title, "Endgame," itself sets a tone of confrontation and hostility, implying an inevitable clash between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family. Scobie's language throughout the book reinforces this perception, using loaded words and phrases to paint the palace as the antagonist. more
I received an advanced copy. Having a background in British history and the Royal Family. I couldn't believe some of the lies that are perpetuated in this book. Dnf. Meghan & Harry beating a dead horse. more
This book is just another sad and pathetic attempt to trash-talk good people for profit. Meghan's mouthpiece strikes again. This time with a huge dig aimed at the Waleses in more apparent bombshell lies as it becomes increasingly more evident and painfully obvious how jealous the Duchess of Deception, and her side piece, the whiney and entitled Spare are of the Prince and Princess of Wales and their ever-growing popularity and success around the UK and the rest of the world. Meghan has painted herself out to be some sort of professional victim in a series of made-up events detailing yet again the ludicrous lies and allegations of racism within the royal family. I am sure when Meghan fled the UK leaving her royal duties behind in England and back to her beloved home of California on the West Coast of the US, she thought she would have endless opportunities in Hollywood and that network executives and producers would be banging down the door for a chance to have her star in a leading role on screen. more
This is just to note the inauthentic ratings have begun, and Endgame has a 1. 7 rating and is over 2 weeks away from being released. This is an early sign of how ratings will be skewed. The trend of bogus negative ratings will no doubt continue as more anti-Sussex folks review bomb and attempt to manipulate ratings and launch personal attacks. (This was also done with Finding Freedom, the author’s first book, and with Spare, Prince Harry’s memoir. more
Never trust a book that uses anonymous sources. That’s the operation of tabloids. . more
Another pathetic attempt to hurt people, thinking he'll be accepted into a life he has no chance of being accepted into. When you set out to deceive and hurt others, it can only cause it to come back, and no doubt it will. Omid Scobie is a desperate little man who is biased in favour of his non friends, the Sussexes. A lousy writer will only give one side of a story, and that's what he always does. . more
This was edited because pro-royal supporters of white supremacy are complaining to Goodreads which did temporarily lock this review. My updated review as of 12/6/23:This is balanced, mostly kind, and honestly fair. The Royal Family is a publicly funded institution. Folks have a right to opinions and critiques. Scobie was kinder and more diplomatic than I'd have tried to be. more
The only “Endgame” I’m reading is the end of this writer’s career. Admittedly, I couldn’t finish reading it, as it was reminiscent of reading Jacobean yellow journalism circa 1780s. Except, no royal heads well be rolling. Though perhaps one or two in California will be melting. . more
lol what even is this title. how is it possible for omid to be this lame. more
It seemed to me it was a rehash of ancient history and most if not all has proven inaccurate. I have a copy of the audio and If I could give it a 0 I would. I can not mark it as DNF as I listened to him narrate the whole thing himself. It's 14. 02:58 of my life I cant get back. more
1. I had access to an ARC - we librarians often do. But I am rereading it as it went through our branches like wildfire and I want some deep and dark things to eventually refer to. 11% in and boring. . more
Good read if you're interested in a conversation starter for how the British monarchy operates today and what role they should play in the UK's future (should they exist. are they worth the taxpayers' funds. What is the symbiotic relationship between monarchy and press. etc. ) Like many people who were fascinated by fairy tales growing up, mentally when I think of kings, queens, princesses, and other royal members, there's often a romantic sheen to them--powerful figures who wield inspiration and admiration to their nations, residing in ornate palaces replete with bibelots and gold filigree everywhere ✨. more
4. 5 rounded up. The review bombers can get wrecked. Omid knew this book would tank his career and he wrote it anyway. more
3. 5 stars. I didn't plan on reading this until the UK media as a whole started hyperventilating over it in unison. The US has its own media issues, but good lord, the UK tabloid culture seems to have gobbled many people's good sense and logical reasoning over there. Anyway, I wanted to see what the hysteria was all about for myself. more
This would be a 4-ish star rating for me, truthfully, but colour me surprised when I went onto the book's review page and saw perfect examples of what Scobie references with regards to trolls who have a weird obsession with Meghan Markle. The irony. THE BOOK ISN'T EVEN ABOUT HER. It's a full, and very critical, account of the Windsor family. Sure, she is mentioned here and there, because she is a part of said family, but that's it. more
Let me preface this with the fact that I love all things royal. So I was "keen" as they say to read this one. It was dense. The pacing was slow at times, full of information that individually taken, is long-winded but all together gives you the complete story. There were no BIG bombshells in the English edition, but if you read the news, you know the big one that came out of this book as a whole. more
Endgame was so disappointing in the fact that it didn’t reveal anything new about the members of the royal family. It was very one-sided pro Meghan and Harry and anti-monarchy. Maybe it’s because I don’t know any of these people from atom. They hate the media and yet Harry and Omid Scobie seem to paint the picture that each member of the family goes to the media with every negative about another member. If that were true then how do they get together and be able to fake it to such a degree. more
Rating 4. 5 Disclaimer: I am not a royalist or a person who outside of this year paid any attention to the British Royal Family. I have a curiosity but no true feelings. I felt that the book did a fair and balanced job of looking at where the BRF is and the problems they are facing and will face. The book highlights many of the key players that will impact how the BRF moves forward including, the people, the media, the courtiers, and the nations of the British Commonwealth. more
Finally. After being censored for the last week by Goodreads, not allowing me to review this horrendous book. This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Filled with old, rehashed drivel that was refuted years ago. The author was ridiculously biased and every point was decidedly one-sided and usually inaccurate. more
Well, at least I didn’t pay for this. Save your money, there is nothing new here unless you are reading the Dutch version (where Charles and Catherine are allegedly the “royal racists”). It is just the author giving his opinions on old headlines. Here’s a quick summary - Omid really dislikes the monarchy and the entire family (except Harry and Meghan) is out of touch with the real world. He’s also very bitter that he was never on the Royal Rota 🤣. more
Boring. feels like a book written for someone twenty years from now to read. There was nothing new revealed in this overly hyped tell-all new book. more
This author was more concerned with reminding people that he's not like the other royal reporters and is the only good and honest one, despite getting many basic facts incorrect that anyone with ability to google could have corrected him on. He's supposed to be an expert in the British royal family but can't be concerned with making sure basic information is correct so it's difficult to take anything he says seriously. I also truly don't understand why his editor didn't dial back his rants about how he's the only royal reporter with integrity and that's why the rest of them hate him. Like I heard it the first time you said it, repeating it in basically every chapter doesn't make me want to believe it more, it just makes me think you're drastically overcompensating for something. more
Interesting book about the Royals after Queen Elizabeth passed away. more
Not as terrible as all those reviews say. I've read worse. He had an agenda and put it out there. Enough errors to make me skeptical. My biggest complaint was I listened to the audio and kept falling asleep. more
Barely worth a review. It’s poorly written to the point of being boring despite trying (too hard) to throw fire. The moralizing is bizarre. This author makes himself the center of this book at a level beyond indulgence and into—again—bizarre. Don’t waste your time or money. more
Every single person involved in writing, contributing, editing & publishing this book should be deeply ashamed of themselves, disgusting display of targeted harassment. more
All the royalists giving this book one star without reading it just because it brings to light hard truths about their faves is really frustrating. Don’t be put off by the bad reviews. . more
I like Scobie's writing - he's clear and direct, but still creates a clear narrative. I was also familiar with a lot of this overarching narrative (I read the Celebitchy blog), but it's nice seeing it portrayed clearly. However, he does a lot more time jumping than I anticipated, and part of me would have liked it to be more linear, but he is focusing on different elements in each chapter, and it still works. People who rate it lowly without reading it - why are you supporting a family that never would support you. But then again, I am an American, and the idea that "I was born to this bloodline which means I'm naturally better than you" is inherently problematic and I don't think it should be an allowed system - especially when it makes anyone below you in the pecking order disposable. more