Busy week of engagements as royals try to move on from race row furore

The controversy was reignited by the publication of Endgame, Omid Scobie’s book on the royal family.
The King, Queen and other senior royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, to view the flypast following the Trooping the Colour ceremony (PA)
PA Wire
Pa Reporter3 December 2023

A busy week of engagements lies ahead for the royal family as they try to move on from a race row.

With the festive season starting to get into full swing, this week will see the Queen invite children, supported by Helen and Douglas House and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, to decorate a Christmas tree at Clarence House.

Other senior royals will also continue their working roles with public engagements amid a row caused by the publication of Omid Scobie’s book on the royal family.

Endgame paints unflattering portraits of several royals – including the Queen.

The Dutch version of the book – which was recalled – pointed the finger at two senior royals who were alleged to have raised “concerns” about the possible skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie, before he was born.

While the English version made no mention of who said what, the Dutch misprint made headlines around the world and saw the book pulled from shelves.

This week also sees Harry’s legal challenge over security arrangements reach the High Court.

He is taking legal action against the Home Office over the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) over his security.

He had been told he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting the UK.

The duke was given the green light to bring the challenge in July 2022 and, on Monday, court staff confirmed the claim would be heard over three days starting from December 5.

The furore comes amid reports that Harry and Meghan are not on the guest list for the wedding of the Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral in June.

The King, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales have all been invited, according to the Sunday Times.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in