‘I felt so ashamed’: Prince Harry reveals in Netflix documentary how wearing Nazi fancy dress costume was ‘biggest mistake of my life’ and meeting with Chief Rabbi afterwards had ‘profound impact’
Prince Harry has said in his new Netflix series that dressing as a Nazi was one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ of his life.
The Duke of Sussex expressed contrition for his 2005 gaffe, in which he went to a fancy dress party wearing a mock uniform that featured the Nazis’ infamous swastika on his arm and the badge of the German Wehrmacht on his collar.
The story made global headlines after an image of then 20-year-old Harry in the uniform featured on the front page of The Sun newspaper.
Speaking in the third episode of his and his wife Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show, Harry expressed his regret and said ‘all I wanted to do was make it right.’
Prince Harry has said in his new Netflix series that dressing as a Nazi was one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ of his life
The Duke of Sussex expressed contrition for his 2005 gaffe, in which he went to a fancy dress party wearing a mock uniform that featured the Nazis’ infamous swastika on his arm and the badge of the German Wehrmacht on his collar. The story made global headlines after an image of Harry in the uniform featured on the front page of The Sun newspaper
He said he met with the Chief Rabbi and also spoke to a Holocaust survivor as part of efforts to repair the damage done by the gaffe.
At the time, the Chief Rabbi was Jonathan Sacks, who passed away in 2020.
The Duke of Sussex said: ‘It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
‘I felt so ashamed afterwards.
‘All I wanted to do was make it right. I sat down and spoke to the Chief Rabbi in London, which had a profound impact on me.
‘I went to Berlin and spoke to a holocaust survivor.
‘I could have got on and ignored it and made the same mistakes over and over in my life, but I learnt from that.’
Harry (pictured in 2004) issued a grovelling apology shortly after the image was published. He said: ‘I am very sorry if I have caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise’
Harry issued a grovelling apology shortly after the image was published.
He said: ‘I am very sorry if I have caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise.’
The Duke of Sussex wore the Nazi uniform at a party thrown by Olympic show jumper Richard Meade.
The theme of the event – held to mark the birthday of Mr Meade’s son Harry – was ‘native and colonial’.
Harry wore the desert uniform of General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
Earlier in the evening he had worn an army-style jacket with a German flag on the arm.
Harry had arrived with his elder brother Prince William, who reportedly dressed in a skin-tight black leotard with leopardskin pattern and a matching leopardskin tail and paws.
One guest told the Daily Mail afterwards: ‘If this was his idea of a joke then it went down like a lead balloon.’
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