In the new novel “Royal Spin,” a young American politico gets a job at Buckingham Palace, working to help the Royal Family address a raft of unflattering headlines.
It’s a classic fish out of water story that also feels completely believable considering that the real-life Palace is currently dealing with some sordid revelations of its own … paging Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?
And the novel has an added patina of authenticity as it’s co-authored by notorious royal watcher Omid Scobie, who had long been thinking of writing a fiction book.
“Royal Spin” centers on a young American who works in comms for the Royal Family.
“It was something that I’d been playing with for some time,” he told The Post. “There were parts of the Palace that were never brought to life [in] movies or TV shows or the pages of books.”
Scobie, 44, has had an inside look at how the royal family operates for years, covering the clan for outlets such as Us Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar and ABC News. Known for being chummy with Meghan Markle, he’s authored two non-fiction books, “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family” and “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival.”
Royal fans might wonder how much is fiction and how much is roman à clef. Scobie’s co-author, Robin Benway, 48, promises it’s mostly the former.
Co-authors Omid Scobie and Robin Benway spoke to The Post about the book.
There’s no Meghan, Harry, William or Kate in the new book. Rather, the characters are all fictitious — there’s a beloved queen, a charming duke named Jasper, and the dutiful Prince of Strathearn.
“We wanted this book to be perennial. We wanted people to be able to pick it up in three years, four years, and not feel like it feels dated in any way,” Benway said.
The protagonist, Lauren, has to deal with a scandal involving a racially insensitive vase — perhaps inspired by the Duchess of Kent wearing a blackamoor brooch to a luncheon attended by Meghan Markle in 2017 — and the Duke’s secret money woes.
The book is a fictional account of the PR and aides around the royal family.
“I think a lot of the settings and the logistics and how the royal rota works and how the protocol behind the scenes, that it’s all very realistic,” said Benway, the author of nine acclaimed young adult titles, including the National Book Award-winner “Far from the Tree.” “But we were very insistent from the very beginning that this be a very separate universe, you know, you can’t compete with the Royals.”
Lauren does face some obstacles that might sound families — namely her struggle to improve the monarchy’s public standing while navigating an institution steeped in centuries-old tradition and fusty protocol. She quickly discovers that trying to implement change in the face of disgruntled royal aides is no easy feat.
Naturally, Lauren also encounters a charming royal reporter who may prove to be more than just a press contact, and, to complicate things, she’s dealing with a dashing duke, who likes to buck the system.
Scobie notes that working for the royal family is far from glamorous.
Scobie says this is a side of the royal family that the public does not see.
“There is a high turnover, particularly for young secretaries coming in, who are aware of the pressures that come with the job but don’t realize until they’ve actually lived it, how consuming it is.”
“There are no weekends,” he noted, “there are no nights off, there isn’t a time where you can afford to be away from your phone,” and the pay is infamously low.
“It’s then a lot of pressure for very little financial return,” he shared, adding that of course, there is “pride in being able to take on a position like that” but “at the end of the day, you’ve got to pay your rent, pay your bills, and do everything.”
The two co-authors met for the first time on a Zoom call, which “did feel like a weird COVID-era date” Benway said, but really hit it off when they met face-to-face.
The book has already been optioned for TV. Getty Images
“We probably had lunch for almost three-and-a-half, four hours, and it was, we both agree, it was such an easy, seamless meeting,” she said. “We were very much aligned on how we wanted the book to feel and how we wanted it to sound. I feel like it’s been such an easy process.”
The pairing has paid off.
In 2024, Universal Television acquired the rights to develop the novel as a series in a bidding war — before the book was even finished.
TV writer-producer-showrunner Emily Fox, who has worked on “Jane By Design” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” has been tapped to write the pilot script and serve as showrunner.
Fox, Scobie and Benway will executive produce.
Scobie said, “[This is the] side of the story that we never get to see.”