Scobie reports that he and Meghan exchanged a hug at Buckingham Palace after the final engagement in the UK, and her parting words to him were “it didn’t have to be that way.” Those words are the crux of Finding Freedom, the story of a duke and duchess who felt they were forced out by an unrelenting ancient institution which neither recognized nor valued them. It is well written, impeccably sourced and a fascinating deep dive into one of the most exciting chapters in royal history. There’s no doubt that the authors had unprecedented access to the couple’s circle of aides and friends, and even though there is little we didn’t already know in the book, Finding Freedom is packed with delicious detail. While Scobie and Durand say that the subjects didn’t collaborate on the book, the level of access is astonishing you can almost hear Meghan and Harry’s distinctive voices. In the media there has been much debate as to how involved the Sussexes have been with Finding Freedom. According to the prologue, “The aim of this book was to portray the real Harry and Meghan, a couple who have often been inaccurately portrayed and victims of those with personal agendas.”Įven Harry and Meghan are said to be a little frustrated that the book has generated so many headlines at a time when they want to put the spotlight on the important race related issues they are championing.

And though it revisits some well-known tabloid stories, like Kate’s tears at a bridesmaids’ dress fitting and Meghan’s alleged request for air freshener at St George’s Chapel, the authors are more invested in writing a favorable account of the Sussexes lives. It reveals how Harry fell out not only with William over Meghan, but also his oldest friend Tom Inskip. The biography reveals intimate details of the couple’s whirlwind courtship and the feuds and fall outs behind palace walls as they approached their fairy tale Windsor wedding. The book tells, for the first time, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s side of the story and reveals why they quit the royal family: “After almost three years of regular attacks from the British press and a family they felt had not done enough to support them, things had to change.” Today’s headlines are dominated by the release of Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s Finding Freedom, possibly the most hyped and publicized royal biography of the year (and there are a fair few out there). As she enjoys her first week off work on her annual holiday to Scotland, the monarch, understandably keen to relax after a challenging year, will likely be avoiding the newspapers too. It’s a safe bet that the Queen won’t have Finding Freedom on her Balmoral reading list.

Finding freedom by omid scobie