Two weeks before it went on sale, Finding Freedom was already an Amazon UK bestseller just from pre-orders and, thanks to sneak peek early media extracts, the most talked about royal book since Andrew Morton’s 1992 Princess Diana biography. It’s one of a glut of exposés about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but from the moment it was first announced, the authors – reputed and seasoned royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand – have been besieged. For while the heady romance of the union between Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle and their subsequent explosive split from the House of Windsor is innately fascinating, the most urgent issue for royal watchers has been the provenance of the book’s narrative.
With no sight of the whole text, commentators declared that the Duke and Duchess must have been personally involved, that Finding Freedom is in reality a thinly veiled platform for the couple to put their side of what has become a fiercely contested story. Many erroneously suggested that the authors had worked with the couple in much the same way Prince Harry’s mother had co-operated with author Morton for Diana: Her True Story.
But when I talk exclusively to Omid Scobie from his base in London and Carolyn Durand, who is currently residing in the US, they are both adamant that there were no on- or off-the-record interviews with Harry and Meghan. What’s more, their claims are backed up by a seemingly conclusive statement put out on behalf of the Sussexes: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
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