Prince William and Kate Middleton appeared to leave Swedish royalty hanging during an awkward moment at the Royal Variety Performance.
The Prince and Princess of Wales appeared in public, hours after Kate was named as having been present for comments about Prince Archie's skin tone in the Dutch language version of royal book Endgame.
The version of Omid Scobie's new biography that was published in Holland suggested King Charles III made the famous remarks, which Meghan first revealed to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. The Dutch book was pulled from shelves while the English version does not contain the names. Newsweek has previously contacted Kensington Palace and HarperCollins for comment.
Adding to an already pressured situation, William and Kate were hosting Prince Daniel and Princess Victoria of Sweden even as the furor erupted around them.
It was against that backdrop that they appeared to share an uncomfortable moment with their guests as they continued talking to dignitaries, leaving the visiting royals waiting.
One fan of Prince Harry and Meghan posted footage on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: "That's how you host foreign royals in your country: by standing aside, with backs turned, completely ignoring their presence. And, of course, make sure you speak and go first, because you are more important.
That's how you host foreign royals in your country: by standing aside, with backs turned, completely ignoring their presence. And, of course, make sure you speak and go first, because you are more important.
— Katerina 🇺🇦 (@Le__Katerina) December 1, 2023
Poor Victoria didn't even know what to do, let alone her husband.🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/eQt8mTdYQ9
"Poor Victoria didn't even know what to do, let alone her husband."
The post went viral after it was viewed 328,000 times and liked 1,300 times.
Scobie's first book Finding Freedom contained some material supplied by Meghan via an aide at Kensington Palace, filings at the High Court previously revealed.
That has created feverish speculation over who Scobie's source was for the revelation about the identity of the royals involved in the famous conversation about race, if the names in the Dutch version are accurate.
Scobie told Newsweek he was able to discover the content of letters sent between Charles and Meghan in the days after the Oprah interview in March 2021.
"I wanted to kind of get in or find out what was actually in them," he said. "Thankfully, in this situation, there's like 10 different eyes on these sorts of things.
"Nothing ever happens privately within the royal family but to learn that, despite not seeing eye-to-eye on the matter, that Megan and Charles as the head of the family had discussed it gave me a better understanding why Megan and Harry felt that they could kind of put it to one side."
The saga overshadowed Charles's appearance at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, despite the fact he also appeared in turn to overshadow British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in some photographs.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston 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.
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Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
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