Coronavirus is the ‘pause Prince Harry needed’, Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie says
THE coronavirus pandemic is the ‘pause Prince Harry needed’, the author of a bombshell book on the royal says.
Omid Scobie, who co-wrote Finding Freedom, said the deadly bug was useful to the prince as he, Meghan Markle and son Archie began a new life in LA.
Read our Meghan and Harry blog for the latest news on the Royal couple
In a new interview with Tatler, Scobie, 38, said that without Covid-19 – which has killed a million people worldwide – Prince Harry would have started a charity immediately.
But instead, the author insists, it’s given the Duke of Sussex a breather.
“It’s a pause he’s needed, and he wouldn’t have had it he’d arrived in LA and gone straight into launching the non-profit,” Mr Scobie said.
Harry himself called the pandemic “devastating and destructive” in a video recorded at his California home.
During the interview, it was also revealed that:
- Scobie had to call police over threats to burn his house down
- And he revealed he is a glutton for detail and got great scoops thanks to his “natural knack for lip reading”
- The author blames two NDAs for preventing him from telling the truth on the dismissals of two Sussex staffers
- Meghan Markle’s friends who didn’t want her to be involving in Finding Freedom ‘changed their minds six months later’ over how she’d been treated
- Scobie ‘doesn’t even know if the Sussexes like him’ – and said: “Press is press and there’ll always be that distance”
Harry and wife Meghan – who moved into an £11million Santa Barbara mansion over the summer – have made a series of inspirational speeches over the internet during America’s lockdown.
Almost 210,000 people have lost their lives to the virus in the states.
The royal couple have experienced a series of setbacks as they try to establish a series of non-profit organisations.
In July 2020, Prince Harry’s Travalyst charity was reportedly flagged to the Charity Commission after the alleged misuse of nearly £300,000.
It comes after William and Kate’s Royal Foundation made two grants totalling nearly £290,000 to Harry and Meghan’s non-profit organisation Sussex Royal in 2019.
Later, £145,000 of this was paid to Travalyst, a private company in which Harry owns 75 per cent of the shares.
The charity, which launched in September 2019, aims to make tourism more environmentally friendly.
Harry’s legal team said the “false claims” are “deeply offensive” and “salaciously created”.
Meanwhile, the couple are going ahead with their plans for charity Archewell Foundation after amending their trademark application following an earlier hitch.
They submitted their original plans for their foundation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 3, but they were told to make changes by August 22.
It was claimed claiming their plans weren’t signed correctly, were “too vague”, and certain fees hadn’t been paid.
A new filing shows they have now signed the plans and made a number of clarifications, showing the basis for the work they’ll be doing with the foundation, which will reportedly be launched next year.
And over the summer, it was confirmed that the pair have official axed their Sussex Royal charity.
Harry and Meghan had to stop using the Sussex brand when they stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family in March.
The Queen told them they couldn’t use the word “Royal” in their branding after they quit the Firm to become financially independent and live in North America.
The Sussex Royal foundation was launched on July 1 last year, after the couple split from the foundation they shared with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
This month, Meghan and Harry made a £100,000 donation to a charity close to their hearts.
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The Duke, 36, and Duchess, 39, of Sussex, decided to match contributions from their fans, dubbed the Sussex Squad, who had raised money for Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED).
And in August, they distributed supplies, clothes and nappies to families in need with LA charity Baby2Baby.