The journalist who wrote Harry and Meghan’s biography has admitted making a mistake after telling an American news channel that the Queen’s coffin would travel from Scotland “to the UK”.
Omid Scobie, a favorite journalist of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, seemed to wrongly suggest that Scotland is not part of the UK.
He also said that the queen would be taken to London on “one of the royal trains”, despite the fact that there is only one royal train and the fact that Her Majesty will be flown.
The 41-year-old later said on Twitter that his comments were a “slip of the tongue” and had been made “in the chaos of breaking news” when news of the queen’s death broke.
He made the comments on ABC News on Thursday, September 8, describing to viewers what would happen to the Queen’s body after her death at Balmoral Castle.
The royal expert said Her Majesty “will end up resting in Edinburgh’s smallest palace before [the coffin] makes his journey on one of the royal trains to the UK’.
Omid Scobie was on ABC News when he said the queen’s coffin would be moved from Scotland “to the UK”.
This was incorrect as the Queen’s body will actually be flown to London by military aircraft from Edinburgh Airport to RAF Northolt outside London tomorrow.
However, it was his apparent ‘slip of tongue’ that suggested Scotland was no longer part of the UK for which he apologized.
Writing on Twitter, Scobie said: “Turns out in the breaking news chaos on 8th September I accidentally said ‘Scotland to UK’ instead of ‘Scotland to England’ when discussing the travel elements of Operation Unicorn. “. Slip of the tongue and happy to own it’
Scobie later apologized for the comment on Twitter, claiming it was a “slip of the tongue.”
Scobie has been a staunch supporter of Harry and Meghan in recent years, co-authoring the couple’s biography, Finding Freedom, in 2020.
He is the actual editor of the American website Harper’s Bazaar and has become one of the closest journalists to the couple since they moved to the United States.
The Queen’s body currently rests at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, where thousands of members of the public have been queuing for hours to pay their respects.
Today, King Charles and his brothers kept vigil beside his coffin, which will be transported to London on Tuesday.
After a brief procession, King Charles III, Anne, the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward stood on one of the four corners of the oak coffin with their heads bowed in a ceremony known as the Vigil of the Princes. .
King Charles III, Anne, the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward stood at one of the four corners of the coffin in a ceremony known as the Vigil of the Princes.
The Queen’s children laid vigil over her coffin at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh tonight. Pictured are King Charles (front center), Princess Anne (left), Prince Andrew (back center) and Prince Edward (right)
The Duke of York kept his eyes closed for a period of time during the 10-minute vigil, while the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex had their eyes fixed on the ground. The King, eyes moist, kept his hands together and also looked down at the ground as members of the public passed by.
The king and his family stood with four suitsmen from the Royal Company of Archers, who stood guard wearing long plumed hats and armed with arrows and quivers.
Members of the public, who have been filing past the coffin by the thousands throughout the afternoon, were briefly held back to allow royals to take their places.
However, they continued to parade once the vigil began, offering them an extraordinary perspective on the historic moment.
On Wednesday, Her Majesty’s coffin will go on display in Westminster Hall, with officials expecting tens of thousands of people to visit as they mourn the monarch.
On Monday 19 September, her funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, with heads of state from around the world and family members invited to pay their respects to the Queen.
Following this service, she will be taken to Windsor, where she will be laid to rest in a commitment ceremony at St George’s Chapel.
