Omid Scobie, co-author of the new book Finding Freedom, has now revealed his thoughts on the relationship between Duchess Meghan and Duchess Kate in a new interview with ABC's Good Morning America. Scobie, who is also a regular correspondent for ABC, also shared his thoughts on the issue of race within the monarchy and is firm in his belief that "race did play a role" in Prince Harry and Meghan's abrupt royal exit in early 2020.
Finding Freedom author: Meghan & Kate "Have Very Little In Common"
Talking to ABC reporter Deborah Roberts, Scobie talked about how very little the two duchesses are alike: "These are two women that really have very little in common," he said. "I think being a newcomer and knowing that Kate was once a newcomer, I think there were times where she, from speaking to sources, knew that Meghan felt that she could of or needed a little bit more support from Kate and didn’t get it in some of those important moments."
There were a lot of stories about the so-called "duelling duchesses" but Scobie claims that these headlines "couldn't be further from the truth." He said: "When I spoke to the people who were actually there and involved, the first thing they all said was, 'There were no tears.'"
Omid Scobie on Megxit : "[...] race did play a role"
Later on in the interview, Deborah Roberts touches on the subject of race and if it played a part in Prince Harry and Meghan stepping back from the royal family. Scobie replied: "In terms of ticking those boxes that may ruffle feathers within an ancient institution such as that of the monarchy, she [Meghan] had really ticked all of them. But race did play a role."
But how will the world look back at that historical moment in January 2020 when Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan just walked away from it all? "History will remember them as a couple that were perhaps failed by the institution of the monarchy, where there was this chance to have a woman of colour, an American woman of colour, in the House of Windsor representing the monarchy just as much as her husband," Scobie said.
"That was a chance for the royal family to have diversity, inclusivity and representation in a way that no other moment in their lives could have brought. And for them to not have harnessed that is something I’m sure historians will be looking at for years to come."
Finding Freedom is out now. We can't wait to read more about the royal exit as well as the relationship between Meghan Markle and Duchess Kate...