Prince Harry's Nazi costume shame and the scandal that haunted the Crown
The duke was forced to make a public apology...Prince Harry is no stranger to making headlines, and the regretful incident where he donned a Nazi uniform as a costume at a fancy dress party was one that left him ‘ashamed’.
The Duke of Sussex, a young royal in 2005, was snapped wearing the uniform at a friend’s country estate. Someone sold the photo to the papers after secretly taking it at the bash, and it was front-page news across the world.
He has opened up about the incident only a few times – the public apology he was forced to make; in his Netflix docuseries with his wife Meghan Markle and in his memoir Spare.
Prince Harry called the decision to wear that Nazi costume as “one of the biggest mistakes” of his life. It altered the perception from royal fans, politicians and columnists, who slammed the outfit.
Prince Harry’s Nazi costume sparked backlash
It was the winter of 2005 and the front pages were filled with headlines that read ‘Harry the Nazi’. They accompanied a photo of the royal – who was fourth in line to the throne at the time – dressed in the officer’s uniform of Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
Brandishing a large red swastika wrapped around his left bicep, he was set to join the British army in a matter of months. It also was only a few weeks ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day as well.
In the wake of the scandal, he released a public apology: “I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise.”
It came after reports the theme of the bash was ‘Native and Colonial’ and Harry laid blame on his brother, saying Prince William loved ‘cringey’ themed parties.
“I found it irritating and baffling,” he wrote, but claimed Kate Middleton offered to help him find a costume after William insisted he attend.
Prince Harry said he “learned” from his Nazi costume mistake
During his series, Harry & Meghan, from Netflix, the prince spoke about the Nazi costume debacle – but only briefly.
He felt it became a learning experience which helped him face his “unconscious bias”, changing him as he was growing up within the public eye.
He said in the series: “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 could have just ignored it and gone on and made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that.”
Read more: Why Prince Harry decided to do controversial Oprah interview with Meghan Markle four years on
The royal, who has referred to himself as the ‘spare’ in regards to the British throne, says he went to Berlin and met with a Holocaust survivor afterwards.
Prince Harry connected the Nazi costume scandal to the ‘unconscious bias’ that he claims exists within the royal family.
He said: “In this family, sometimes you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
“There is a huge level of unconscious bias. It’s actually no one’s fault, but once it’s been pointed out or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right. It’s education, it’s awareness. And it’s a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.”
William and Kate ‘encouraged’ Prince Harry to wear Nazi uniform
Prince Harry went further in his memoir and claimed Prince William and sister-in-law Kate Middleton ‘encouraged him’ to wear the Nazi uniform.
The dad-of-two claimed he was considering to wear either a British pilot’s outfit or a Nazi uniform for the party, and called William and Kate for their opinion after visiting a costume shop in Nailsworth.
But Prince Harry then alleged that his brother and sister-in-law both “howled with laughter” when they saw him in the Nazi costume.
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said,” Prince Harry wrote.
He continued: “They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.”
William also attended the star-studded do, which was thrown by Richard Meade, the Olympic show jumper. For the event, the now Prince of Wales dressed up in a lion outfit, reportedly wearing a black leopard skin leotard with a matching tail.
Prince Harry, William and Kate Middleton’s representatives were previously contacted for comment.
Harry thought he would ‘die from shame’
In his memoir, which released in January 2023, the Duke brought up the scandal again, explaining he felt he could have ‘died’ from the shame.
Prince Harry called the media backlash over his Nazi costume as a “firestorm” which he “thought at times would engulf me. And I felt that I deserved to be engulfed”.
The now dad-of-two added: “There were moments over the course of the next several weeks and months when I thought I might die of shame.”
The royal, who left The Firm as a working member in 2020 with wife Meghan Markle, said he “wasn’t thinking” when he made the choice.
Read more: A timeline of Prince William and Prince Harry’s royal family drama and feud
“When I saw those photos, I recognised immediately that my brain had been shut off, that perhaps it had been shut off for some time,” he explained. Harry went on to reveal his brother was “sympathetic” during the backlash, and dad King Charles was “tender” and had “genuine compassion”.
He also revealed it was Charles who had the idea for Harry to speak to the chief rabbi of Britain. Harry says he offered the prince forgiveness: “He assured me that people do stupid things, say stupid things, but it doesn’t need to be their intrinsic nature. I was showing my true nature, he said, by seeking to atone. Seeking absolution.”
He said that “no one took any notice”of him at the party, but someone saw the “chance to make some cash, or some trouble” by taking his photo.
What do you think of Prince Harry’s comments about his Nazi costume in Spare? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page.
