Why King Charles Said He Was Recovering From a Shock

King Charles III said he was "recovering from the shock" of his recent milestone birthday during a visit to Dubai on Thursday, as he has become the first senior royal to make a public appearance following the publication of a contentious new book on the British royal family.

In a meeting with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 75-year-old Charles reportedly said he was "all right very much, just about," but was recovering after "having had a rather ancient birthday" earlier this month, as he prepares to attend events connected with the COP28 UAE climate conference.

The appearance comes after a Dutch translation of Omid Scobie's royal biography, Endgame, was pulled from shelves in the Netherlands on Tuesday when the text appeared to reveal the names of two royals identified in a letter exchange between Charles and Meghan, discussing the bombshell comments made about her unborn children's skin color mentioned in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The passages of the recalled book soon circulated on social media, though Scobie later said that no English version of his manuscript stated the royals' names and put the issue down to a translation error.

In the English-language version of the book, Scobie wrote that Meghan and Charles exchanged letters in the wake of the duchess' interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which unnamed royals' "concerns and conversations" about her children's skin color were first revealed.

Scobie wrote that he could not disclose the names of the family members identified in the king and duchess' letters because of U.K. laws.

The issues surrounding the Dutch translation have renewed public interest in the monarchy's race relations and in particular the claims made by Meghan and Harry in their Oprah interview.

On Wednesday night, broadcaster Piers Morgan faced backlash for publicly announcing the names included in Endgame's Dutch translation on his British TV show.

Buckingham Palace has so far issued no official statement regarding Scobie's book, and amidst this ongoing issue, the king landed in Dubai where he is attending events connected with the COP28 climate convention taking place on November 30 and December 1.

On Thursday, Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English posted one of the first photographs of Charles since the race scandal broke, meeting the Nigerian president.

Writing on her X (formerly Twitter) account, English, who is covering the Dubai trip with the royal rota press corps, said: "The King has brushed off the ongoing royal race row stoked by Omid Scobie's new book by focusing on his work. In Dubai to give a keynote #COP28 speech, he met with Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today."

The Sun newspaper's royal editor, Matt Wilkinson, who is also on the trip, posted to his X feed the comment made by Charles during his meeting with the president.

"The King has set to work in Dubai (amid the Endgame drama) for series of meetings with world leaders," he wrote. "At his first bilateral he told Nigeria's President: 'I'm all right very much, just about. Having had a rather ancient birthday recently recovering from the shock of that.'"

Charles is an advocate for environmental causes and has spoken out on climate change over a number of years. In 2021, as Prince of Wales, he gave an opening address at the COP26 summit in Scotland.

Endgame and the issues surrounding its Dutch publication continue to dominate social media comments and press coverage of the royals, somewhat overshadowing the king's environmental engagements in Dubai.

Speaking to Newsweek, Scobie previously explained his reasoning for the book's ominous title, describing the present monarchy, with Charles at the helm, and its future in uncertain terms.

"People asked me why I called the book Endgame," he said. "I don't think that this is the end, I just think that this is potentially.

"And it's in their [the royals] hands. Could go one way, or the other…[it could be] the end of the monarchy as we know it because, as we've seen across Europe, monarchies do shrink in importance and presence over time, depending on their relevance and importance within society."

Back in England, after the king's debut engagement in Dubai, the Prince and Princess of Wales made their first appearance since the Endgame book debate started, being photographed at Windsor Castle with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband, Prince Daniel.

The Swedish royals will accompany William and Kate to the Royal Variety Performance in London on Thursday evening.

Newsweek hasapproached Buckingham Palace via email for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.