© EPA-EFE
Since Friday, ‘Final Battle’, the Dutch translation of a much-discussed book about the British royal family, has been back on the shelves. What is striking: not only the names of the “royal racists” were removed, there are said to be “hundreds of differences” compared to the first version.
There was an immediate commotion. And many. As soon as the Dutch translation of ‘Endgame’, the book by royalty watcher Omid Scobie about the British royal family, was released, almost all of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were in an uproar. The reason? Unlike the original work, two names were mentioned in the Dutch translation in connection with the racism riot that arose after the controversial interview that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had given to Oprah Winfrey.
As one of the reasons for their departure from the United Kingdom, Markle had indicated that someone within the British royal family was very concerned about the skin color of the child (Archie) that she and Harry would have. That person was quickly renamed “royal racist” in the British media, but his true identity remained unknown. No names were mentioned in ‘Endgame’ either, but that was the case in the translation ‘Final Battle’. That of King Charles and Princess Kate Middleton.
‘Final Battle’ was quickly removed from the shelves so that the “translation error” could be corrected. The book was republished on Friday, although Dutch royalty watcher Rick Evers – also the man who first discovered the names of Charles and Kate – noted that many more adjustments were made. “There are hundreds of differences in last week’s version and today’s version,” he writes on X (formerly Twitter).
According to Evers, this often involves small adjustments, such as “Queen Camilla” who is now suddenly called “Camilla, Queen Consort” again or “Catherine” who is “Kate” again. However, more substantive changes have also been made. The book is generally a lot less critical of the royal family – and especially of Crown Prince William. “He no longer has the image of lazy Wills, now he only has a work-shy image,” said Evers. “And Meghan no longer had psychological problems, but was simply having a hard time. Prince William’s adultery rumor is now just rumours.”
It is not clear exactly why these adjustments were made.
The British journalist/royalty watcher Omid Scobie. — © Sportsfile for Web Summit via Ge