Revelations from new royal book 'Endgame'

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In his new book, "Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival," out Nov. 28, journalist Omid Scobie paints a fractured picture of Britain's royal family, arguing that the death of Queen Elizabeth II "ruptured" an antiquated power structure that was already hanging by a thread.

In excerpts published by People in November 2023, Scobie, the author of 2020's "Finding Freedom," claims Prince Harry was left "completely" alone leading up to and immediately after his grandmother's death.

Scobie also suggests the rift between Harry and his brother, Prince William — not to mention, his father, King Charles III — is much deeper than previously known.

Keep reading for the biggest revelations from "Endgame" so far, then click on for Scobie's take on where Harry and William's relationship may be headed…

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Kept 'in the dark' about the Queen's health

In "Endgame," Omid Scobie reports the royal family failed to keep Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, informed about Queen Elizabeth II's impending death until it was too late.

On Sept. 7, 2022, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, were already in London, having traveled from California to attend a charity event. That day, Buckingham Palace announced the queen had been advised by doctors to "rest" and would have to postpone an important meeting with her Privy Council. But the 96-year-old monarch, who was then still at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, would not survive long enough to reschedule.

"By the next morning," Scobie writes, "the Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was already planning for the queen's final hours and the first days of the monarchy's new era — until the duke's phone started ringing."

It was Harry's father, (soon-to-be) King Charles III. "He told Harry to make his way to Scotland immediately," Scobie writes. Harry's brother, Prince William, "whom Charles had just spoken to, was supposedly working on arranging travel."

MORE: See the best pictures of Britain's royal family in Scotland

Prince William's radio silence

"Endgame" author Omid Scobie alleges Prince William "ignored" frantic texts from his brother, Prince Harry, about traveling together from England to Scotland to see their grandmother in her final hours. According to Scobie, William continued giving Harry the silent treatment as Harry raced to find a way to Balmoral.

"Harry sent a text message to his brother asking how he and Kate planned to get to Scotland and whether they could travel together. No response," the author writes, per People.

"With no further information from other family members or Palace aides, the Sussexes and their team had to operate in the dark. Harry was informed that William had already secured a flight with his uncles [Prince] Andrew and [Prince] Edward (and Edward's wife, Sophie), but he couldn't get in touch with anyone about joining that flight."

Quoting a "source close to the Sussexes," Scobie writes, Harry "was completely by himself on this.'" Another text from Harry to William went unanswered, according to the author, who concludes: "Though there were available seats on William's chartered Dassault Falcon private jet, which was leaving in less than an hour, Harry was left to fend for himself."

MORE: The best photos from the first days of King Charles III's reign

'Come alone' to Balmoral

King Charles told Prince Harry to "come alone" to Scotland to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, according to Omid Scobie's "Endgame."

As "travel options dwindled" for the necessary trip from England to Balmoral, Scobie writes Harry was contacted by his father.

"Another call came through from Charles, who instructed his younger son to come alone. Despite already publicly confirming that Meghan would come with him (always the plan if they were traveling from California for this very situation), he reluctantly agreed, after Charles assured him that [William's wife, Duchess] Kate would not be there, either," the author continues. "Charles had cited 'protocol,' but the reality was that Kate chose to stay back to pick up the children from their first day at a new school."

According to Scobie, a former palace aide later said, "They just didn't want Meghan there."

'Begging' for information

Prince Harry's team reportedly "begged" Buckingham Palace to delay announcing Queen Elizabeth II's death until Prince Harry could be informed.

On Sept. 8, 2022, Prince Harry was finally in the air en route to Scotland when his grandmother died. Given his longstanding close bond with the queen, Harry's team tried to persuade royal press secretaries to hold off on an announcement until he could be told, according to "Endgame."

Quoting confirmation from a "family source," Omid Scobie writes, per People, that Harry's "team literally had to beg them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit."

But once bad weather in Scotland "forced Harry's plane to circle the airport numerous times before landing," the palace press office announced at 6:30 p.m. that the queen had died, per Scobie's account.

"When Harry's plane finally touched tarmac twenty minutes later, he received a text from Meghan urging him to call ASAP followed by a breaking news alert via the BBC News app with the announcement of the queen's death," the author writes. "'Harry was crushed,' said a friend of the duke. 'His relationship with the queen was everything to him. She would have wanted him to know before it went out to the world."

No call from Charles

"Endgame" author Omid Scobie found no evidence supporting claims that King Charles attempted to tell Prince Harry about the queen's death directly.

According to Scobie's book, "there was never any proof" of the Palace's claims "Charles tried to call Harry" to tell him his grandmother had died.

"Palace 'sources' later briefed certain papers that Charles had personally shared the news with his younger son," the author writes, "but this was just a move to save face."

Instead, Harry was reportedly greeted at Balmoral by Princess Anne, who "led him to the queen's room, where he spent a quiet moment privately paying his respects."

Alone at Balmoral

When Prince Harry arrived at Balmoral on Sept. 8, 2022, to pay his respects after Queen Elizabeth II's death, he was reportedly told his father and brother had already left the grounds.

"He had hoped to see his father — who had made it to Balmoral Castle in time to see his mother alive — to express his sympathies, but he was informed that Charles, William, and Camilla had already left for Birkhall together," Omid Scobie writes, referencing King Charles III' estate next to Balmoral.

"Again, no invite was extended to Harry. … With no offer to return with William and the others in the morning (all of his texts, including a thoughtful message about the loss of their grandmother, continued to be ignored), Harry booked his own British Airways ticket" out of Scotland.

Reunion moments

On Sept. 10, 2022, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, and Prince William and Duchess Kate, reunited in a rare display of sibling unity to view floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle.

Later that month, the four royals attended the queen's state funeral on Sept. 19, 2022. Prince William and Prince Harry were photographed together throughout the day, while Meghan paid tribute to the late monarch by wearing pearl and diamond drop earrings Elizabeth had gifted to her in 2018.

'Nothing has changed'

Though the British royal family came together publicly to honor Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the January 2023 release of Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," reportedly exacerbated existing tensions between Harry, Prince William and King Charles III.

In Harry's book, the royal writes candidly about the growing rift he felt separating him from his brother and his family.

In a November 2023 interview with People, "Endgame" author Omid Scobie said "absolutely nothing has changed" nearly one year later. In fact, he said Prince Harry is now seen by some as "a threat" to the British monarchy.

'No going back'

"I saw [Prince] Harry's release of 'Spare' as his last attempt at telling his family how he's felt for years. Because clearly there's never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings," Omid Scobie told People in the same interview.

"In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the crown. His freedom to exert his own thinking outside of the confines of the institution has made him the enemy."

For Harry and Prince William, the author added, "there's no going back."

Moving on

Despite the royal family's tensions, Prince Harry reportedly traveled back to London from California for the coronation of his father, King Charles III, on May 5, 2023, feeling ready to "move past" everything.

As Omid Scobie writes in "Endgame," the Duke of Sussex felt "it was the right thing" to do, even though it meant "landing in London with knots in his stomach," per People's excerpt of the book.

Scobie writes that a source told him of Harry, "Though he hasn't found closure with his family, he's accepted that things are unlikely to change, particularly with his brother — who refuses to even properly talk with him."

According to Scobie, Harry later explained to a friend, "I'm ready to move on past it. Whether we get an apology or accountability, who knows? Who really cares at this point?"