Beaming Prince Andrew is seen horse riding with a companion at Windsor Castle amid Omid Scobie race row

Prince Andrew bundled up against the cold as he rode his horse around the grounds of Windsor Castle this morning.

The 63-year-old Duke of York couldn’t help but smile at his companion as he mounted the saddle today.

Andrew wore a dark blue jacket with the royal monogram of the Grenadier Guards.despite the fact that his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, stripped him of honorary military appointments in 2022.

The father-of-two is often spotted riding horses and driving a Range Rover on his extravagant Berkshire estate.

He continues to reside at the Royal Lodge, having reportedly received permission from King Charles to “stay indefinitely” after they “discussed a new deal”.

Prince Andrew was spotted riding a horse in the grounds of Windsor Castle this morning.

Prince Andrew was spotted riding a horse in the grounds of Windsor Castle this morning.

The outing comes at a turbulent time for the royal family following the release of the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s new book, which says two members of the royal family allegedly raised “concerns” about the color of Prince Archie’s skin.

Scobie, 42, swore on live television last night on his life and the lives of his family that writing the names of the two royals in the Dutch version of Endgame was not a “trick” to sell more copies of his book. .

He said he was “hurt” by the suggestion and dismissed it as a conspiracy theory from people who want to believe he is “in cahoots” with Meghan, saying: “That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

The author also refused to apologize for the racist scandal, saying: “I’m just as upset as everyone else. There were no titles in the book I wrote, in the book I edited, in the book I signed.”

But questions remain about whether he wrote down the names because one Dutch translator told MailOnline yesterday: “The royals’ names were there in black and white.” I didn’t add them.”

Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Two’s Newsnight, Mr Scobie was asked to say “hand on heart” that the fuss over the Dutch translation was not a PR stunt. He raised his hands, shook his head and replied: “For my life, for the life of my family.” Ms Derbyshire said: “You don’t have to go that far, it’s okay.”

Scobie then said: “No, it’s serious because I’m offended by some of the things I’ve seen that suggest conspiracy theories, some kind of publicity stunt, and ‘I’m in cahoots with my friend (Meghan)’.” . “And nonsense like that because it leads to something that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Victoria then said, “You must have put names in some version, and the wrong version, I believe, potentially went to the rights people around the world.” Mr. Scobie did not answer.

It comes after media outlets around the world, including ITV, The Guardian and The Times, named the two royals accused of questioning Archie’s skin color as King Charles and his daughter-in-law Kate.

During the opening credits of Good Morning Britain today, Ben Shephard said: “The Princess of Wales made no comments about the Royal Variety appearance in London last night and it was business as usual for the King at the climate conference in Dubai after their names were named in the Dutch version of a new book about royals who wondered what color Prince Archie’s skin would be.”

The Duke of York, 63, grinned at his companion as he mounted the saddle this morning.

The Duke of York, 63, grinned at his companion as he mounted the saddle this morning.

The Dutch edition of Mr Scobie’s book named two members of the royal family whom Meghan allegedly accused of having “fears” about “how dark” Prince Archie would be, which Piers Morgan identified on air last night.

Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex, who allegedly named the couple in a letter to Charles, insist that Telegraph that she “never intended for them to be publicly identified” and that “no one from her camp passed on this information to Mr. Scobie.”

The royals went about their business as usual, with King Charles in Dubai for Cop28 and Prince William and Kate performing brilliantly at the Royal Variety Performance in London last night.

Palace sources told The Mirror that “the entire royal family is united in outrage” after family members were “unfairly referred to in this way.”

The Dutch edition of Mr Scobie's book names two members of the royal family, Meghan (pictured with Harry in September 2021), allegedly blaming

The Dutch edition of Mr Scobie’s book names two members of the royal family, Meghan (pictured with Harry in September 2021), allegedly blaming “concerns” about “how dark” Prince Archie would be, which Piers followed last night Morgan, who identified them live. TV

Mr Scobie (pictured), 42, swore on his life and his family's live on air last night that spelling the names of the two royals in the Dutch version of Endgame was not a

Mr Scobie (pictured), 42, swore on his life and his family’s live on air last night that spelling the names of the two royals in the Dutch version of Endgame was not a “trick” to move more copies. his books

They added: “There is an absolute and unequivocal denial that anything said by the two publicly named individuals was said or could even be considered to have been said in a racist manner.”

The row has been described as an “outrageous smear” that began with the Oprah interview but has now “taken off into another stratosphere”.

The inclusion of names resulted in 5,000 copies of the book, dubbed The Last Battle in Holland, being removed from bookshelves and turned into pulp.

Bookstores were ordered to remove paperbacks from their shelves and return them to publishers. The book will go on sale again next week.