When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to release their ‘happy holidays’ card last week they did not do it through their phalanx of PR lackeys, nor even on the website of their charity, the Archewell Foundation.
Instead, the first image of the achingly woke card – featuring photos of the couple’s philanthropic work alongside a blurry shot of them with their children – was released by their longtime friend and hagiographer Omid Scobie on his X social media account.
For many, it was proof that Scobie, the author of two gushing books about Harry and Meghan, remains very much in favour with the couple.
Today, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Scobie (dubbed ‘Scobie-Doo’ by his detractors because of his Sussex sycophancy) has moved permanently to Los Angeles, meaning he is only a two-hour drive from the Sussexes’ 16-bathroom mansion in Montecito.
Insiders say the 43-year-old is working on a book and TV project whose inspiration bears more than a passing similarity to Meghan’s turbulent history with the Royal Family before she and her husband upped sticks and quit the UK for California.
The combined projects, both called Royal Spin, revolve around a glamorous and feisty American publicist who leaves her high-powered job in Washington DC to work in the communications department at Buckingham Palace.
According to a source at media giant Universal, which secured the rights to the show for a reported seven-figure sum, the series is ‘Emily in Paris crossed with The Crown’.
The source said: ‘Let’s just say the plot isn’t a million miles away from Meghan’s account of what happened to her when she joined the Royal Family, just substitute ‘publicist’ for ‘actress’.
‘You have this plucky woman who enters the Palace and comes up against the ‘men in grey suits’ who are stuck in Victorian times.
‘The heroine is a thoroughly modern woman, a feminist, much like Meghan sees herself, yet she is stymied at every turn by stuffy royal aides. She gets stuck in the middle of culture clashes and finds herself very much a fish out of water.’
But, of course, in Scobie’s fictionalised version of events, the feisty American import wins over the hearts and minds of everyone she meets and ultimately triumphs over the Establishment ‘baddies’.
Scobie travelled to LA earlier this year to ‘seek his fortune’, intending to sound out opportunities in the entertainment industry. At the time he was living in a luxury flat in London’s Canary Wharf but, according to one associate, was seeking the ‘Hollywood dream’.
They said: ‘Omid already had a gig as a regular talking head on [TV show] Good Morning America but he’s ambitious and always dreamed of having a Hollywood career. He went out to LA to take meetings. He took a lot of meetings.’
According to his Instagram account, the former Heat magazine reporter initially rented a house in the Hollywood Hills but, the MoS can reveal, decided to make the move permanent once he sealed his Universal deal.
He has told friends he plans to live in LA for a minimum of three to five years.
Today he is ‘living the dream’ in a luxury apartment block steps from Sunset Boulevard in the heart of West Hollywood.
Flats in the trendy block rent for between £4,500 to £8,000-a-month with many enjoying sweeping views over the dramatic LA skyline. He regularly posts photographs on his social media accounts of the stunning sunset views from his balcony.
He is so committed to his new life he flew his beloved French bulldog Yoshi over to California and the pair are now fixtures around West Hollywood.
The author enjoys dining out at Sunset Tower – Jennifer Aniston’s favourite restaurant – and at the Polo Lounge at the five-star Beverly Hills Hotel, known locally as ‘the Pink Palace’, and posts pictures of his expensive meals in both chic hotspots on social media.
Scobie also loves ultra-trendy Verve coffee shop on Melrose Avenue and Great White, a hipster dining spot which is always crammed with Hollywood celebrities. Paris Jackson (Michael’s daughter) and new mother Margot Robbie have both been spotted there in recent weeks.
Scobie often faced negative attitudes in the UK because of his passionate support of the Sussexes, with his first book Finding Freedom outlining the royal romance in excruciating detail, including the yoga pose Meghan struck after her first night with Harry on holiday in Africa. So it is little wonder that he is said to relish life in laid-back, celebrity-obsessed LA.
His second book, Endgame, controversially – and, according to him, ‘accidentally’ – named the two royals that Meghan complained displayed racism towards her by speculating what colour skin her son Archie would have while she was pregnant.
A source who knows Scobie said: ‘He took a lot of flack when he said it was the King and Princess of Wales who made those remarks. I think even he was surprised by the backlash. But in LA, nothing matters except how successful you are and, with the seven-figure Universal deal, Omid is considered very successful.
‘It’s much easier to live somewhere where the sun always shines and people like you, rather than have people constantly sniping at you like they do in Britain.’
Prince Harry’s friend James Haskell, the former England rugby union player who attended the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding, described Omid in his recent book The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, which he co-wrote with Princess Anne’s son-in-law Mike Tindall, as ‘a very odd bloke’.
Haskell wrote: ‘We all know that American royal fans are f***ing nuts, especially Scobieites.’
According to his social media, Scobie enjoys working out almost daily at a private members gym, the aptly-named Royal Personal Training.
In one recent post on Instagram, he showed himself working out with the words: ‘Just protecting my peace.’
He has treated himself to a £70,000 black Land Rover Defender and took a road trip earlier this year along the California coast.
Whether he popped in to see the Sussexes in Montecito remains unknown, although the MoS has been told he spent some time in the wealthy beachside enclave.
Meghan always vehemently denied co-operating with Finding Freedom but was forced to admit in the High Court that she did secretly provide personal information for the book through a third party.
However the Sussexes are but one part of a network of high-powered friends Scobie has cultivated at his new home.
‘Women love him and he has people within Oprah Winfrey’s circle on speed-dial,’ one source claimed.
‘People in LA are impressed by the fact he’s published two books and has worldwide notoriety. The fact that he’s not popular in some circles doesn’t matter in Hollywood. He gets invited to lunch and dinner by some very important and influential people, especially older women who really enjoy his company.
‘Americans still idolise Princess Diana and the fact that Omid has close links to Diana’s son gives him credibility.’
Scobie’s youthful appearance is something that is encouraged in his adopted city, where plastic surgery centres and Botox clinics are on every other block.
One old friend who knew Scobie when he worked on Heat said: ‘He was quiet back then and looked totally different to the way he does now. He never talks about if he’s had work done but there is no denying he looks very different to the ‘old’ Omid.’
The friend adds that Scobie is a fan of K-Pop, a genre of music from South Korea, where cosmetic surgery among even its young stars isn’t uncommon.
‘He’s improving himself all the time. He always has the latest man-bag, wears expensive designer clothes and goes to the trendiest places. He’s fastidious about his appearance,’ the friend says.
‘LA is the perfect place for him. No one accuses him of looking plastic because everyone there is plastic.’
Scobie has been showing off a curious new tattoo on his forearm that appears to give geographical coordinates for a location north of Oxford, close to where he was raised by an Iranian social worker mother and British marketing director father.
Yet, much as he loves his adopted home, it appears Britain will always draw him back.
Last week, he proudly posted pictures from flashy designer stores in London, including Chanel. He already owns a pair of the label’s skis.
He is believed to have returned to the UK to spend the festive season with his family.
While his TV show is expected to start filming some time next year, Scobie hopes to parlay Royal Spin into a lucrative long-term Hollywood career. ‘Omid wants to get more into TV production and dreams of being in the film industry,’ the Universal source added.
‘He’s a talented writer and the sky is the limit for him. If Royal Spin is a hit then offers will come flooding in. He could end up eclipsing the Sussexes in terms of Hollywood success.’
While Scobie’s star is on the rise, that of his ‘mentors’ is in decline.
Prince Harry’s latest show Polo – the Sussexes’ fourth project as part of their £80 million five-show Netflix deal – has tanked in the ratings. Meghan’s upcoming cookery series is scheduled to air in the first quarter of next year and is ‘make or break’ for the pair.
‘Netflix isn’t expected to renew Harry and Meghan’s deal when it comes up next September,’ a source familiar with the negotiations told the MoS.
‘Of course that could change if Meghan’s cooking and lifestyle show is a success. But they’ve burned a lot of bridges. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Omid’s show is a hit and he ends up doing better in Hollywood than them?’
Now that would be a Hollywood ending with a twist.
