Prince Harry in costume party unpleasantness

Post by **Gandalf** » 2005-01-13 03:52am

The Age wrote:Britain's Prince Harry has apologised after he was pictured on the front page of The Sun newspaper dressed up at a costume party as a Nazi soldier, triggering shock and revulsion.

Today's edition of the Sun features Prince Harry, younger son of Britain's Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, wearing a khaki uniform with an armband emblazoned with a swastika, emblem of the German WWII Nazi Party.

Harry, 20, who is third in line to the British throne after his father and his elder brother William, was also shown holding a cigarette and drink at a party which had the theme of "Natives and Colonials".

A spokeswoman for the royal family who was contacted by AFP read a statement of apology.

"I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise," Prince Harry said in the statement.

A source close to the royal family said the party took place sometime after January 1.

Jeff Barak, deputy editor of the Jewish Chronicle, told Sky News his reaction to the photograph was one of "shock and revulsion".

He said that going to a fancy dress party as a Nazi was "something that one does not do" and is "not a laughing matter".

"He has made a serious error," added Barak.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed the apology.

"We're gratified that the prince has apologised. The incident was in bad taste, especially in the run-up to the Holocaust memorial day, which the royal family will play a leading role in commemorating," it said.

Holocaust memorial day is marked on January 27, the day in 1945 when the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz, the most infamous of the Nazi World War II concentration camps.

Commentators described the incident as a "public relations disaster".

Doug Henderson, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North and a former armed forces minister, said Harry should not now be allowed to become a British Army officer.

"After the revelations this evening I don't think this young man is suitable for Sandhurst," the elite army officer training school, Henderson said.

"If it was anyone else the application wouldn't be considered. It should be withdrawn immediately," he said.

The Sun's royal photographer Arthur Edwards said he thought Harry had made a "huge, huge mistake" and was "stupid".

"He's quickly apologised but it is still a gross misjudgment," he added.

The Queen's former assistant press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, described the incident as "offensive", adding: "This young man has got to come up front and be seen in person making an apology".

Asked if there were any checks on what the prince did in his private life, Arbiter told Sky News: "It would appear that there aren't, because if there were checks he wouldn't be allowed to go on like that".

"There is a lack of discipline, there is a lack of control.

"I'm sorry, (his father Charles) the Prince of Wales, he's a humanitarian and he does some terrific work, but I don't think he has the discipline, and the right discipline, over his children, particularly Prince Harry."

The Sun reported Harry, who is due to train at the Sandhurst later this year, was among 250 guests at the party for a friend's 22nd birthday party in Wiltshire.

His older brother William also was reported to have attended, dressed in a home-made lion and leopard outfit.

The newspaper said Harry's outfit of beige shirt and trousers and Nazi insignia had been the talk of party guests.

One shocked reveller told the Sun: "What on earth was Harry thinking of? A senior royal dressing up as a Nazi for a laugh? If that is his idea of a joke it went down like a lead balloon with many".

"There are a lot of old soldiers out there who will look at these photos of Harry dressed like this and be totally outraged."

He added: "The Nazis were responsible for the deaths of millions. To turn that into a jokey idea for a fancy dress is an absolute disgrace."

Normally I'm no big fan of British royalty news, but this I found rather interesting and oddly humourous.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2005-01-13 04:03am

Should have said he was Rommel, he might have gotten off the hook

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2005-01-13 04:23am

Maybe he takes after his great-great uncle?

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2005-01-13 05:26am

Guess he forgot that Granny (a.k.a. the Queen) was around when Britain was fighting the Nazis.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-01-13 05:29am

BlackAdder Season 4

Cpt Darling; I'm as British as Queen Victoria!

Cpt Blackadder; Oh you mean your father is a German, you are a half-German and your husband is a German!

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2005-01-13 05:35am

He is not the sharpest tool in the shed is he?

Public figures can expect to get shit for almost anything but dressing up as a Nazi? Damn he needs to get whacked with a cluestick!

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2005-01-13 05:42am

Faram wrote:Public figures can expect to get shit for almost anything but dressing up as a Nazi? Damn he needs to get whacked with a cluestick!

More or less, he dressed up as a SA-mann, instead of a Wehrmacht
soldier like Erwin Rommel

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2005-01-13 05:45am

What a fucking pussy.

"I'm so sorry for dressing up as a Nazi, even though we were kicking their arses in granny's time."

Some people sure do know how to whine.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2005-01-13 05:57am

MKSheppard wrote:
Faram wrote:Public figures can expect to get shit for almost anything but dressing up as a Nazi? Damn he needs to get whacked with a cluestick!
More or less, he dressed up as a SA-mann, instead of a Wehrmacht
soldier like Erwin Rommel

Yea Rommel would be cool, even the brits during the desert campain respected Rommel.

BTW

Preordered HoI 2 Yet? I have it at home! goodie

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2005-01-13 05:59am

Faram wrote:Preordered HoI 2 Yet? I have it at home! goodie

It's been out in the States Since Jan 5th or so, and NOBODY FUCKING HAS IT!

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2005-01-13 08:32am

Here's the pic of the costume in question for anybody who hasn't seen it yet

from cheating on his A'Levels to this, the fact that this guy could well become king is one of the best arguments for republicanism going.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-01-13 08:34am

that was probably the coolest thing he´s done in his life. esspecially with his status as a celebrity. brilliant.

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2005-01-13 08:37am

That slovenly attire puts a shame to all would-be nazi costume enthusiasts everywhere.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2005-01-13 09:01am

Jesus Christ, he dresses up as a Nazi and has a swatstika armband on his arm, so fucking what? I doodle swatstikas, zombies, tanks, dinosaurs on my paper and nobody gives a flying fuck. Can't celeberties live a normal life, fucking around and fooling around however they want? Jesus!

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-01-13 09:06am

If he was going to do it, he could have at least got a proper Wehrmacht SS uniform, or a prison kommandant or U-boat captain's attire. I mean, really, no effort and he still got the public outrage.

I heard one German guy on BBC News say he'd probably be prosecuted if it was in Germany.

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2005-01-13 09:12am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:If he was going to do it, he could have at least got a proper Wehrmacht SS uniform, or a prison kommandant or U-boat captain's attire. I mean, really, no effort and he still got the public outrage.

I heard one German guy on BBC News say he'd probably be prosecuted if it was in Germany.

I had to do that, there was a murder mystery party and I got landed with the role of the Nazi SS officer - I scared myself.

Still, it does raise an interesting point, when is it acceptable to dress up as something which has these sorts of issues attached to it - when I was down in Bangor at christmas, I saw someone dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, would people feel differently if Prince Harry had done the same instead of a Nazi?

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-01-13 09:12am

I think public display of a Swastika is still illegal in Germany. Probably would be for quite some time, I'd guess...

It was a very stupid thing to do-- is he really that unaware, to realize that everything he does is scrutinized by the media; that folks don't like Nazis; that his Grandma was involved in the era as an enemy of the Nazis; and that Britain's Holocaust memorial is coming up in a week or two..?

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2005-01-13 09:21am

He's a fucking teen, like me. We tend to do that stuff. Oooh, Memorial Day, who the fuck cares? *dresses up as a Nazi due to angsty teenage hormones*

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2005-01-13 09:25am

Shroom Man 777 wrote:He's a fucking teen, like me. We tend to do that stuff. Oooh, Memorial Day, who the fuck cares? *dresses up as a Nazi due to angsty teenage hormones*

Unfortunately his position means he needs to have a little more presence of mind.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-01-13 09:32am

When you smoke weed, the most you can expect is a telling off by the cops and your old folks, assuming they never liked it. If Harry does it, like he did in the past, it's a public atrocity. So really, with that in mind, did he think dressing as a Nazi was going to be ignored, especially with the British paparazzi around who repeatedly show themselves as being better at digging up dirt than any gov't party or intelligence agency?

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2005-01-13 09:34am

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Jesus Christ, he dresses up as a Nazi and has a swatstika armband on his arm, so fucking what? I doodle swatstikas, zombies, tanks, dinosaurs on my paper and nobody gives a flying fuck. Can't celeberties live a normal life, fucking around and fooling around however they want? Jesus!

Well for one thing the swastika is a common geometric design and needed necessarily have anything to do with the nazis so doodling one and wearing one on an arm band as part of a Nazi uniform are rather different.

Also unlike you this guy is 3rd in-line to the thrown and could easily become my head of state, as such I expect a higher standard of behaviour from him than your average guy. If he doesn't like that well then he abdicate and take himself out of the line of succession, as long as he gets the privileges of being a royal he gets some extra responsibilities to.

The_Lumberjack wrote:Still, it does raise an interesting point, when is it acceptable to dress up as something which has these sorts of issues attached to it

If you're a high ranking British royal never, if you're a private citizen I'd say Nazi uniform is still inappropriate for fancy dress but acceptable on the stage.

- when I was down in Bangor at christmas, I saw someone dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, would people feel differently if Prince Harry had done the same instead of a Nazi?

First of all are you sure they were dressed as the Klan and not as part of that Catholic order which have a near identical costume, if it was the Klan then I'd say that that's also unacceptable, they might not have killed anywhere near as many people as the Nazi's but they stand for more or less the same thing.

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2005-01-13 09:37am

I'm fairly sure it was supposed to be a KKK costume, it was for an oceanography social on my friends course, obviously it's difficult to tell without speaking to the chap, but most people were giving him dark looks for it and most of the lecturers in attendance were apalled by it judging by the conversations I overheard at the bar.

Post by **Vympel** » 2005-01-13 10:48am

He looks like crap. I don't ascribe particular significance to uniforms from old at a fancy dress party, but man he looks like crap. He should've gone in a Wehrmacht uniform, officer's.

If I were ever to go to a costume party, it'd be Red Army officer for me, all the way ....

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-13 11:04am

So ... he got dad's brains, I see. What a twit.

Plekhanov · Post by **Plekhanov** » 2005-01-13 11:13am

Chmee wrote:So ... he got dad's brains, I see. What a twit.

I'd say more Grand Dad's (ie Prince Philips) brains, that guy also has a real talent for needlessly offending people. Obviously Harry is only just starting out on his career of embarrassing the UK in the eyes of the world and isn't approaching the heights of faux pas that Philip habitually and seemingly effortlessly reaches but I have high hopes that he may one day surpass even him.