"Finding Freedom" author Omid Scobie says he was victim of prejudice from 'very senior' royal aide

Omid Scobie, co-author of "Finding Freedom" and a friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, has claimed that he was a victim of "prejudice" from a "very senior" royal aide at Buckingham Palace.

In a recent appearance on the show "This Morning," Scobie was asked by presenters Rochelle Humes and Alison Hammond whether he was surprised by the claims of racism Harry and Meghan made in their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March. In response, the journalist said, "We knew they had contended with issues surrounding race within the institution."

The 40-year-old explained that he himself experienced some prejudice from one or two royal aides in the past, so he kind of knew what Meghan, believed to be the first mixed-race member of the royal family, was entering. He recalled that a recent example of this was when he approached a senior palace aide to ask questions about the racism claims for the updated version of his and Carolyn Durand's biography on the Sussexes.

The royal expert, who has a Persian mother, further said about his experiences in the palace as a mixed-race person: "I wouldn't say racist, but I just experienced prejudice. I'm mixed race, there aren't many mixed race royal correspondents out there."

However, he was taken aback when the unnamed senior aide told him he "found it really peculiar" that he speaks as well as he does as someone who is of mixed race. "And I'm used to 'where are you from, where are you really from' and all that kind of stuff, but that was a very loaded comment – and I'm sure it came not from a nasty place, but it just shows perhaps a level of unawareness within certain quarters of the institution," he explained.

Scobie said that due to his own experiences, he was not surprised that Meghan did feel unfairly treated in the palace. However, even he was shocked when she revealed to Winfrey that an unnamed senior royal was having conversations about the skin colour of her unborn child.

"I think for it to mention a family member, that was kind of the moment that even myself, my jaw was on the floor – just like Oprah, it was the same reaction," he said.