One of the defining moments of Prince Harry’s life was “the Nazi costume” incident in 2005. Harry and his brother attended a party, the theme of which was apparently “Natives and Colonials.” Soon after the party, photos of Harry were leaked to the media, photos of Harry wearing a swastika and swigging a drink. At the time, Harry was thrown under the bus thoroughly and then-Prince Charles made a big show of encouraging Harry to make amends and visit people within Britain’s Jewish community. Harry recently addressed the issue in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan, where he called the costume “one of the biggest mistakes of my life.” As it turns out, Harry also addressed the incident in his memoir, Spare. The New York Post had the excerpt, wherein Harry writes that Prince William and Kate encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform and they thought the whole thing was hilarious.
Prince Harry sensationally puts some of the blame for his Nazi uniform scandal on his brother, Prince William, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, in his new memoir, sources tell Page Six. The Duke of Sussex will claim the Prince and Princess of Wales “howled with laughter” when they saw him dressed up for the 2005 party.
Harry was 20 years old when The Sun newspaper published a front-page photo of him dressed as a Nazi soldier with a red armband emblazoned with a big swastika. The picture was taken at a costume party with a “Native and Colonial” theme, where William was also a guest and was dressed in a homemade lion outfit.
In one segment of the book, obtained by Page Six, Harry writes about choosing the outfit, revealing that it was a toss-up between two costumes: a pilot uniform or a Nazi uniform.
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said,” Harry writes, adding that when he went home and tried it on for them. “They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.”
Harry, now 38, is expected to go into detail for the first time about his fallout with his older brother following the ensuing storm. Other book sources confirm that there is also a “good chunk” about both Kate and his stepmother, Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Although the Duke of Sussex has called the Nazi incident “one of the biggest mistakes in my life,” one senior publishing source who has read Harry’s “Spare” told us, “It’s strange as you would think that Harry would take ownership of this and just move on and not drag his brother into it, but he makes it clear that he feels strongly about William’s role in the scandal.”
Royal Historian Robert Lacey had previously written that the first sign of trouble between the brothers came when Harry was forced to bear the brunt of public outrage over his Nazi costume — even though William helped choose the outfit. “Harry chose his costume in conjunction with his elder brother — the future King William V, then 22, who had laughed all the way back to Highgrove (Charles’ country home) with the younger sibling he was supposed to be mentoring — and then onwards to the party together,” Lacey wrote in his 2020 book “Battle of Brothers.”
Yeah, I don’t believe that Harry is trying to shift the blame onto William. Harry has made it repeatedly clear that he made a mistake and he’s tried to learn from the experience and do better. What Harry is saying is: William and Kate didn’t see an issue with it at the time either, and they never got any heat for it. We’ve heard before (especially from Robert Lacey) that the Nazi uniform moment changed William and Harry’s relationship, but I don’t think we’ve ever heard that Kate was right there, “howling with laughter” at the uniform. Golly!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN, covers courtesy of the NY Post and The Sun.
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- Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, arrives in Dublin, on the 1st of a 2 days visit to Dublin,Image: 377449653, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Netherlands OUT, Point De Vue OUT, Model Release: no, Credit line: Albert Nieboer / DPA Picture Alliance / Avalon
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- 13/05/2017. London, United Kingdom. Tea Party at Buckingham Palace. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry host Party at The Palace, they are hosting a special party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace to honour the children of those who have died serving in the Armed Forces. .,Image: 512500052, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- (160610) — LONDON, June 10, 2016 () — Britain’s Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine (C), Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry leave St. Paul’s Cathedral after the National Service of Thanksgiving to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday on June 10, 2016 in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan),Image: 531267577, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS excluding China – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Han Yan / Avalon
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- Members of the Royal Family including HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall with The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry attend a Memorial service held at the Thiepval Somme Memorial to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme which started on the 1st July 1916. Prince William, Kate and Prince Harry were met on arrival at the visitor centre by President Hollande of France.,Image: 532096304, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: UK and USA ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eric Beracassat / VISUAL Press Agency / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 26: (L-R) Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund’s Royal Film Performance 2015 of the 24th James Bond Adventure, “Spectre” at Royal Albert Hall on October 26, 2015 in London, England.
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- The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral Featuring: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, William Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Dec 2017 Credit: John Rainford/WENN.com
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 26: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend a reception during a visit to Bacon’s College on July 26, 2012 in London, England. Prince Harry, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visited Bacon’s College and launched the ‘Coach Core’ Programme, a partnership between their Foundation and Greenhouse.
Please call the Nazi hooked cross by its actual name- the Hakenkreuz. The term “Swastika” is cultural appropriation from people who have absolutely zilch to do with the Nazi genocide or anti-semitism.
I just pre ordered. I always was going to, but yesssss Haz!!!! Spill. The. Beans. You’ve got my money and support.
@ Veda–I never knew that. Thank you for enlightening me
I’m not surprised but did Kate have a patronage with holocaust survivors? I wonder how this will go.
If Kate were close to harry as spin goes her laughing at harry shows what really went on.
Wasn’t there a low-key scandal in her early marriage days where she went to a holocaust remembrance event and looked visibly bored/annoyed?
This stuff reminds me of the “shock but not surprised” Trump days: not surprised by these vile people, but the details of they’re doings make we want to vomit
I don’t remember that, but when she visited a concentration camp on their Germany/Poland tour in……2016? 2017? She wore a two piece floral dress (you couldn’t see any midriff or anything, but it was still two pieces) and high heeled open toe sandals for the visit. Some people said the flowers were in “tribute” or something but the outfit seemed really tone deaf, especially as it was something not typical of Kate’s wardrobe – i.e. she bought it specifically for that visit. And we rarely (ever?) see her wear open toe shoes outside of evening events.
@Becks1 what is your point? Frumpy floral dresses and ugly shoes have been Kate’s signature style for a decade.
@Becks1 – I didn’t remember this, and I just went and looked up the photos from their visit. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen her wear open-toed shoes. It is a weird choice.
Yes, another element is that flowers are not involved in Jewish funerals. Funerals are solemn affairs and flowers are disruptive to the mourning process..
Laughing up and storm and wearing leather shoes (open toed or not) at death camps, both of which are offensive. On brand for Kate.
@Tacky if you read my comment, I specifically said “especially as it was something not typical of Kate’s wardrobe.”
It was not an ugly frumpy dress with ugly shoes. It was something very a-typical for her to wear. The shoes weren’t actually ugly, they were just an unusual choice for her in general for daytime wear.
Trust me, I’m familiar with Kate’s frumpy style. This outfit was a very weird choice, kind of like wearing hot pink at the 9/11 memorial.
When she visited a concentration camp during the tour in Poland, she was wearing a floral type outfit while everyone else was wearing more somber colours. Similar to how she wore hot pink during a 9/11 memorial while everyone else was wearing dark colours.
So her usual lack of soft diplomacy skills, but not necessarily anti semitic.
@becksy- your connection of the two memorials had me realize her outfit choice is one of an immature mean girl who won’t have her day ruined by these problems that have nothing to do with her
I once visited a concentration camp in Germany and I certainly did NOT wear a flowery dress and open-toed shoes. I wore a black jacket, tan trousers and black low-heeled shoes WITH closed toes. No jewelry except a watch. Everyone else there on the tour was dressed similarly. It’s a very somber occasion and most of us were in tears at the end. How could Kate be soooo flippin’ stoopid. SMH…
I thought the dress was a terribly inappropriate choice. I literally gasped when I first saw a pic. That said, Im not sure about the shoes. She’s been criticized for wearing open toed shoes (supposedly against protocol) several times before.
I’m just glad that Harry is exposing these people for who they truly are. I hope their patronages and charitable organizations see this and would begin to distance themselves. Will and Kate are not really doing a great job with their patronages anyway. What a bunch of hypocrites!
Y’all remember Heads Together lol? Seriously though, it must’ve been torture for him to be trotted out with these two as a third wheel constantly and to pretend they all were the best of friends. Gross.
The hypocrisy Harry is making public here is unfortunately not totally unusual in “posh” circles. As Germans when we lived in London, we were often speechless at all the Nazi jokes at gatherings with incredibly wealthy people. One of my dear friends’ husband was a German investment banker who would entertain wealthy UK clients and he was repeatedly asked to parade around like an SS officer- as if this was a funny party trick. We were mortified as he usually played along and the upper class Brits attending thought it was HILARIOUS. The first time it happened we hightailed it out of there asap, but we realized it was not a rare occurence. It happened so many times my husband refused to stay longer than dinner. This of course does not apply to all Brits, theyy are some of the loveliest people on Earth, but unfortunately to many of the filthy rich ones. That is one thing we really don’t miss about the London fab life.
@otherviv
As a Jewish woman that has experience in these circles, I started to wear my star so that these people I sometimes encounter would stop. I imagine they may have antisemitic thoughts towards me, but it’s less painful than hearing their true feelings.
I don’t understand why anything related to the Nazis and WWII is a source of amusement for anyone in Britain. The UK didn’t experience the Holocaust directly, but it’s not like they sailed through the war unscathed – the Luftwaffe bombed the sh*t out of them, especially in London, where during the war BP was bombed more than once (including while TK was in residence), 30,000 people were killed, and close to 2 million buildings were damaged or destroyed. The damage maps in the article below are unbelievable. Add on to that the bombing of port cities and industrial centers outside London. These attitudes are despicable on multiple levels.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation
Kate took portraits of holocaust survivors (using overly dramatic chiaroscuro lighting) and chatted with the people behind the pictures. It was actually a decent patronage and the survivors had good things to say about her. BUT this girl needs to explain her role: if Harry gets crucified for wearing the uniform, which was undeniably gruesome, Kate needs to own up for her past complicity. Also, strange how we never hear about what SHE wore.
I find it more concerning that the party was even given the go ahead. The theme was ‘Natives & Colonials’ which seems really odd for members of the royal family & fraught with issues. I wonder though if the Nazi costume was more a self deprivation dig at their own connections & heritage.
I want this royal family to go – it’s basically child abuse that three children are being paraded around infront of the world & monetised. How can they make decisions for themselves as human beings and be free ? By the time they can walk they’re already fair game for the media/their privacy has been sold & their names and faces are global.
Harry was wrong for wearing that costume. Period. People will criticize Harry for sharing that Will and Kate suggested the costume but they miss the point don’t they. Those two suggesting Harry wear something like THAT shows their deprivation. They can take credit for the good things Garry has done though right? A Nazi uniform? Not a cop or a lion tamer? A Nazi uniform. Gross.
Also, as the “spare” Harry is supposed to have William’s back in all things, but repeatedly (and in the most telling moments), William has not only NOT reciprocated, he’s thrown Harry under the bus to cover his own ass.
This is revealing why a monarchy is complete bs. If this supposed “magic blood” system makes certain people so special they are chosen to lead everyone else, why does it actually seem to strengthen the smallest and ugliest parts of those same people?
Casting blame elsewhere is wrong, yes. Good thing Harry’s not actually doing that.
I agree. Their entire posh culture is gross for having a genocide, sorry colonial, themed party. Harry was part of that world. He is related to actual nazis. But he’s done so much to learn and grow and atone. I don’t mind him using examples to illustrate the cultural environment as long as he fully owns it was ultimately him in that costume. He has owned it in other contexts so I’m sure in the memoir he’s not deflecting blame.
He’s not casting blame. He’s telling the full story of what happened. He’s describing the culture in which he grew up and how insular and problematic it was.
He didnt put on the costume, show up at the party, and then everyone said OMG THATS AWFUL HARRY TAKE IT OFF. The future king thought it was hilarious and a great idea.
Right. Of course by 20 Harry should have known better and been able to not go along with an awful thing a more popular peer was encouraging him to do. Of course Nazi uniforms and slurs are less of a gray area and more serious than many of the things lumped under the ‘approprifishing’ umbrella (an issue that’s used to control and forever abuse all women and haze poc now). Will and Kate’s encouragement also says something about them, and should have gotten backlash. Acknowledging that doesn’t remove Harry’s ownership of what he did.
At least Harry apologized and still seems sincerely sorry about what he did. It’s also sad that his problematic past gets trotted out as a reason why there should be no sympathy over what Meghan went through. I wonder if there will ever be any kind of apology from Will and Kate for their own problematic behavior.
By telling the complete story regarding the Nazi uniform, Prince Harry is pointing out that in their social circle at that time it was not frowned upon. Prince Harry is not excusing his behaviour, rather he’s highlighting the racist and antisemitic environment he grew up in.
Paul Hollywood and Piers Morgan (I’m not 100% sure on PM because I’ve not been able to verify it myself) have also worn Nazi uniforms.
Harry was wrong to wear the uniform, which he has acknowledged, but the fact these two were laughing tells me that they knew exactly how it would play out in the tabloids.
Agreed, Willy probably thought this was another opportune scenario where he can throw Harry to the wolves to cover his ass and that’s why he probably encouraged Harry to wear the uniform. This doesn’t excuse Harry, of course.
ICYMI, Harry has taken responsibility, apologized and said it was the worst mistake of his life.
This was a major event in Harry’s life had he has every right to give more context in his memoir. It is not wrong AT ALL for Harry to point out that he was egged on by his older brother.
This is sooooo bad and given that she has met elderly holocaust survivors will back fire on her as it should.
I wonder what else is in there about her. Ma must be sh!ting bricks.
Karma is at the door.
Omg you make an excellent point. Kate has positioned herself as a friend of the Jewish community especially Holocaust survivors. It’s not a good look that she was involved in the Nazi uniform decision.
Isn’t Carol’s father Jewish? I get that Kate wasn’t raised with a sense of being culturally Jewish, but it seems especially telling that Kate isn’t able to even acknowledge her own heritage. It must be exhausting to be her.
@Zazzoo, No, not a single person in Kate’s family is Jewish. Her mother’s maiden name is Goldsmith, but that’s a last name used by gentiles as well as Jews. Apparently this rumor that she is Jewish stemmed from bad reporting (surprise surprise)
https://jewishunpacked.com/why-some-people-think-kate-middleton-is-jewish/
@Naomi – Ah! Well at least it’s a common misconception. But the bit about how the monarchy still has a ban on Jewish employees? Is that true?? This onion has so many layers.
I don’t know. They probably used to (Britain at some point in history banned all Jews from the island) but I doubt it anymore.
They don’t even teach much about slavery here in America. Or the holocaust. So why do we think it would be different in the UK. They don’t even teach about their own historical connection to slavery over there.
The British aristocracy is virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic.
@Ameerah M,
I have no idea what you’re talking about. My kids are in school now and they have read a book on Holocaust pretty much every year, I feel like it’s one of the things American education really covers. And I feel pretty confident that this is the case in most, if not all, states, because we have moved around.
Slavery is also taught pretty extensively in our state. Here, I will be less willing to vouch for all states, especially as of late, but I have read many people say that they learned their history even when they were schooled in Alabama or Texas.
@Tessa, Having worked in a few school districts in the South and Northwest, I can say that different schools — even within the same district — vary wildly in their coverage of difficult cultural events.
One of the best interdisciplinary curricula I’ve seen concerning the Holocaust was in a middle school where every grade read a memoir in their ELA class (working with 8th grade meant that we read Elie Wiesel’s “Night,” and I unfortunately don’t remember what the younger grades read) created art that reflected their feelings about their readings, actually explored the topic in social studies and history classes (some grades don’t have history, per se, but space is made for discussion when appropriate), and was capped off with an age-appropriate presentation from a local community group that linked smaller forms of otherization (such as cliques and bullying) with the dehumanization process that precedes a genocide in a school-wide assembly. It was a moving, humbling display of a concerted effort to teach children valuable life lessons and critical thinking skills (I remember one class evaluated *contemporary* consumerist and political propaganda to understand how rhetoric can influence group feelings and beliefs) along with sharpening their fundamentals.
This was in Texas, but, sadly, did not reach the whole of the district I worked in. When I moved to a different middle school a few years later, there was barely a mention of the Holocaust, aside from one ELA teacher exploring excerpts of Anne Frank’s Diary with her class, black history month was distilled to coloring pages of MLK’s face, and slavery was not mentioned at all.
So, the depth of coverage of “uncomfortable” topics — especially ones where the teaching staff don’t feel equipped to handle sensitively for whatever reason — varies wildly. You’ll hear lots of justifications for doing less, and very little push to do more, especially as certain groups get bent out of shape about “agendas” being presented to their children in the form of literature and accurate presentations of history. I mean, we still have Texas textbooks that describe slavery as some sort of mutually agreed upon working relationship between the landed gentry and African peoples, and the concept of “manaña” being influential on the work-ethic of Latin and Hispanic peoples, I kid you not. It’s a shame.
Some places handle “discomfort” far better than others, so it’s really important for families and communities to be aware, ask for more where there are deficits, and explore history outside of school — if you are close to cultural centers, visit them often. If you aren’t, read about historical events, talk about them and how they shape the present with your kids, be honest about things that might hurt to look at, watch documentaries… all the things that might be happening in school, but should be happening at home, too.
I think Harry is saying I was 20 and asked people close to me and they led me to believe that this was okay. Harry publicly talked about how wrong this was and how ashamed he is of this. He was technically an adult but 20 year olds still need trustworthy people to look out for them and guide them as they make these crucial decisions.
I think the point is that Harry took responsibility and did the work to make himself a better person. William never did. He is still that guy.
They mentioned W’s “leotard” costume. Huh. It wouldn’t surprise me if Harry fully details how the other brother was dressed, and the Post is glossing over it to try put focus on the Nazi uni instead.
It doesn’t matter how William was dressed. A 20 year old should have the good sense to know it is never ok to wear a Nazi uniform. And who the f*ck even sells such a thing? It’s all so gross.
As to who would sell it–I remember being in a small-town Georgia antique shop roughly ten years ago that sold actual Jewish concentration camp uniforms, complete with yellow star. They had only one or two, threadbare, but still. That shop also carried a lot of those horribly caricatured ‘mammy’ & ‘Uncle Remus’ type artifacts. That shop must have been able to sell such things, or they wouldn’t have them on their shelves.
I’m sorry but I think it matters how William was dressed as only Harry was hounded by the media. If I am not mistaken, William wore a costume supposed to to represent an African chef with all the necessary cliches. I don’t think that either should have worn what they did but I think it’s important to underline the unfair treatment Harry received because of his role as Spare.
The way I see it, the whole book is him saying that he rejected this role when he realised that it would mean having to beat the brunt of everything even in the cases when his brother was as bad or worse. It’s possible to take accountability while denouncing bad treatments. Two truths can coexist in my opinion.
Pointing out that W’s costume was reportedly also reprehensible is in no way excusing what Harry wore.
@Shiera You are a repeating old gossip. There are no photos of William dressed as an African Chief and Harry, in his own worlds, describes William’s costume as a leopard. Even if William was dressed in a racist costume, it does nothing, absolutely nothing, to justify Harry wearing a Nazi uniform. Harry knows what he did was wrong and is appropriately apologetic.
What should also be questioned is why the young royals went to racist themed costume party. Thinking a Colonials and Natives costume party is a fun thing to do just show how racist their entire social circle is.
There is an article from shortly after the incident talking about how for a small segment of the British population a Nazi uniform is a great fancy dress costume. It can apparently be a bit awkward though if you go dressed as a Nazi to a fancy dress dinner at a restaurant and it turns out there are a bunch of Jews celebrating a birthday also there.
@Tacky – he says leotard, not leopard. Look again.
Harry still covering William a$$ although why no one knows. There are photos of William dressed as a ‘Zulu’ complete with black stockings, you just have to scour tumblr for them. They used to be on the (thankfully) now defunct RoyalGossip site too. It isn’t gossip when the person working the rental shop went on record saying that’s the costume William demanded.
iirc it was a different party where Kate showed up in a satin slip, no bra or underwear, as an ‘Indian/First Nations maiden’ complete with patterned headband and feather sticking up in the back. No surprise she loved Harry’s costume.
I’ve seen a picture of Kate in that outfit at a party, have been wondering if it was the same party.
Is this the photo of the fancy dress party? I found it as a stock image:
https://www.alamy.com/guests-arrive-at-britains-prince-williams-21st-birthday-party-at-windsor-castle-near-london-june-21-2003-the-princewho-is-second-in-line-to-the-throne-celebrated-his-21st-birthday-on-saturday-night-with-a-african-themed-fancy-dress-party-in-which-both-his-friends-and-members-of-the-royal-family-were-encouraged-to-don-outlandish-costumes-reutersmartin-bennett-pp03060063-mbfa-image380774856.html?imageid=71430F5D-B301-4FF0-A7E1-7892D29AC82C&p=1335310&pn=1&searchId=a144882da4f1c31591d364fcde7c4f19&searchtype=0
I am remembering the same, Notasugar. William was maybe in blackface, going as a African chief or native. Of course all pictures of the heir have been destroyed or buried, while Harry’s pics were widely distributed. If no one is talking about William’s costume being offensive, Will is STILL being protected.
@Azblue, no, that’s from William’s 21st bday party, which I think had an “Africa” theme. So this particular party was a few years later.
I think the fact that we are trying to figure out which racist themed party they attended really says it all.
Harry ultimately made the decision to wear it and he’s copped to that mistake and did the work to be better. I still think it’s important to show that Will and Kate encouraged Harry to indulge in his worst instincts. It also puts to rest the image that William was the good/sensible one. Because if William had a lick of sense, he would have told Harry not to do it.
It also demonstrates that not only does Harry admit his mistakes, he does the work never to make them again. He recognizes that it’s not enough to call yourself not racist, but that you have to be anti-racist. All credit to Meghan, because she taught him that. William has never admitted wrongdoing for anything, never done any work of any kind, let alone on his privilege and blind spots. William is unfit to be king. #AbolishtheMonarchy
And Harry, spill all the tea on your step-mother. She is as trashy and anti-woman and racist as they come.
Was Normal Bill actually wearing a “lion” costume? Doesn’t seem to fit the theme. Pretty sure he was dressed as a “native” and calling it a lion costume was part of the coverup. The theme of the party is repugnant in itself.
Yeah, I thought it was a Zulu costume but apologists passed it off as a lion…
Yup. Revising history to protect the spare at all costs. But we SEE you. And William went in colonialist cosplay last year to visit a Black nation. He has learned nothing in the 18 years since.
Maybe Willy wore blackface to this party, hence all the doubletalk.
Sorry @Sussexwatcher, I did not see your comment below.
Whoops. Meant “protect the HEIR” at all costs.
Yes, I agree. I was wondering whether calling it a lion costume comes from Harry himself in Spare, or from Page 6’s filling in the blanks. I’ve always thought it was common knowledge that Willy went in blackface. This is the first time I’m hearing of a lion costume (which, as you said doesn’t meet the theme).
I’m glad Harry is retelling the story – the whole story – and was impressed by his taking full responsibility for wearing the costume (even though it’s clear W&K encouraged him to do it) and learning from it as he described in the documentary. Harry has done so much work on himself and I applaud him for it.
💯 the story had Will in black face. I’ve never heard about any lion costume. Plus a lion doesn’t go with the theme.
If i recall correctly, the hints and rumours of the time were that it was a Zulu costume, which was then reported as a gorilla costume and has now become a homemade lion costume. And also, not to excuse Harry, but that he was thrown to the press on this one to safeguard William.
It was a racist African warrior costume, with a lion skin cape. He was not dressed up as a lion.
Harry HAS accepted ownership of that incident and admits it was a mistake, has learned WHY it was such a huge mistake and not something ridiculous and funny to wear to a costume party.
so what he’s saying here is – this was a mistake, but it was not one I made on my own, but I was the only one punished for it. This is part of the whole heir-and-spare narrative. William (and now Kate?!?) encouraged Harry to wear this, and when he came under fire for it (as he should have) William and Kate were nowhere to be seen.
Exactly.
💯!
Yes to this comment. I feel like that was exactly the point he was trying to make.
Yeah, I think the book will chart Harry’s deepening understanding of what it means to be the spare and this moment is important in that journey.
Yes. And the fact that a picture leaked also says a lot. I’m not saying it was a set up, but the whole thing worked out very well for Willie. Harry owned his mistake, payed the price and learned from the experience, Willie didn’t and still probably think dressing like a nazi is hilarious.
I think we have been saying for a while that William clearly condoned the costume because they ended up going to the party. That Kate condones it too is new information because she was kept out of this even back then, when talk of William’s costume surfaced.
I guess this is where Kate gets “blindsided” or whatever about this book?
Exactly @Becks1!
So much for getting good advice or guidance from his older brother William. Kate, I don’t expect to have any independent common sense or judgement.
But all kate storytelling during this time and the first period of her mariage was about being from a grounded family with normalcy and common sense in opposition to snob decadent classist aristocrats and royal family , and this to benefit to a very grateful William.
The nicknames about being a doormat, the mattress were an euphemism nicer than this dreadful reality.her royal golddigging knew no low.
I’ve seen photos of Kate in a white slip dress and a headress with feathers for a similarly themed party, back when she and Will were dating. Not a good look for any of them, but especially not the heir, who would someday be head of the commonwealth.
Yeah, so this pretty much destroys the narrative that William looked out for his younger brother. Set him up, more like.
It looks like will considered his younger brother as a human Toy to use for his own pleasure and whim , and Kate was gleeful to take part in that toxic mess, until Harry wedding revealed their abject fantaisies were not the reality.
Harry’s not shifting the blame. He’s taken ownership of the decision, he’s just showing that the heirs didn’t have a problem with him wearing the uniform either.
Harry is responsible for his choice, but their laughter and encouragement says plenty about W&K.
Also the difference is, we know he would no longer do something like that, or attend a party with that disgusting theme, whereas they would probably do it tomorrow without a second thought.
You said it all right there.
As long as they were certain no photos would come out.
While drinking “crack baby” cocktails, no doubt.
I was getting crazy this morning on twitter and just refreshed CB for the possibility to talk among like-minded people ^^. The narrative of the anti H&M is that Harry refuses accountability. I don’t understand what needs to happen for them to see the truth of William or even Kate.
Even R. Lacey detailed how this event changed the way Harry saw his position as the heir : he was thrown under the bus and thrown to the wolves while William had non-PC costume too. I’m wondering what Kate was wearing now…
Weirdly, they do not take into account the Lacey’s book but all the DM and SUN articles.
Suffice to say, I’m really happy to have this space 🙂
Edited to correct some phrasing (I’m French so I did a “Frenglish”)
I don’t remember seeing photos of Kate at this party, but I’ve seen photos of Kate & W at some other party where he went dressed like a cowboy & she like an ‘Indian’, complete with headband with a feather sticking up in the back (the rest of her ‘costume’ was a slip dress with a cardigan, so inventive this chick).
As heir to the throne William would have received education on such matters and should have know better than to allow his younger brother to wear the nazi uniform
As heir to the throne, Will received a bad education and definitely nothing covering stuff like this.
Well, looks like it’s time for Eton to rewrite and implement a more comprehensive history curriculum to include slavery, colonialism and the World Wars!
Puppy1- It’s not like these people go to class, lol.
This is obviously not about blame, it’s about the lifetime narrative of the heir and the spare and how Harry has been shield in the press for his brother for his entire life. The book is literally called Spare.
I find it interesting that although Lacey wrote about this in his book, none of the tabloids chose to pick up on the story in their articles when that book came out. But with Harry’s book, oh yes, they’ll pick it apart.
Harry is just confirming what a respected royal book and tabloid gossip have already told us. But he’ll be torched, for sure.
Harry has rightfully expressed his regret at wearing the Nazi costume. There were always rumours that he had been encouraged to do so by William who escaped scotfree in the press. This is the first time, I think, that it has been confirmed and also that Kate was involved.
I can’t honestly say I’m surprised at W&K’s involvement. Their attitude and behaviour is typical of the British privileged classes. The whole colonial and native party theme was abhorrent.
Okay so don’t come at me because I’m not questioning Harry’s account. But I am confused as to Kate being involved. Was Kate living with Will then? I thought Harry was looking forward to getting to know her when she and Will got engaged? Like I said, I’m not questioning the veracity of the story, but I’m wondering if someone can sort of clarify the timeline here?
I believe in 2005 would be one of the ‘on’ years for their ten-year on-off relationship.
They were together at that point (I think that was a year when Kate was really really expecting a ring) and my impression is that they were all going to the party together? So harry calls up to ask advice, and then shows up at their place ready to go to the party in the costume and that was when they howled. I think.
Unless they tied him down & dressed him………this is a bit much deflection IMO. You have plenty of other material Dude, this one is stretched awfully thin.
How is it deflection?
He’s not blaming them for his choice (a choice he’s publicly owned more than once already)
He’s stating that they saw nothing wrong with it, encouraged it in fact.
I’ll be curious to read the actual account in the book vs this edited excerpt.
Exactly this.
The H detractors are looking any and all excuses as to why he should not drag “Saint Will” into this. Dude, he has been considered “the Spare” solely BECAUSE of William’s existence. Of course his relationship and dynamic with his brother was going to feature heavily in this book. Be prepared — plenty of people are going to cry Poor Willy because there are a lot of people who don’t want to admit they’ve been so completely fooled by someone (or the idea/image of someone) they thought highly of. See Trump as an example…there are way too many people in this country who could never bring themselves to say they were wrong, so they simply double down.
Harry has not shifted blame at all. What this shows is that William and Kate condoned the costume which is racist.
Harry has explained exactly what happened, that William and Kate encouraged him to go with the Nazi costume and laughed uproariously when he put it on. Being the spare meant doing whatever he had to to “get along” and receive an occasional bit of approval instead of being the punching bag, humiliated and beaten up by the likes of his brother and that lout Tindall. Harry was inculcated early on to be the people pleaser and not ruffle feathers. This is a perfect example.
It was wrong for sure, it’s all on Harry and I think he owns that, but you know what would have been nice, is if your big brother, someone you thought of as your role model, your protector….maybe if ‘Willy’ could have made a statement that said, I don’t know, SOMETHING! He could have said, “I knew what Harry was doing and I should have guided him and stopped him beforehand…” I mean he could have done something instead of letting him take all the heat, because this wasn’t like your kid or my kid doing something that insensitive and racist. This was all over the world. His family could have stepped in and provided him some sort of support instead of just hanging him out to dry and I think that’s what he’s trying to say. To me, that’s how a future KING would behave.
It has become crystal clear that Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties not only due to mistreatment from the press but due to royal family actions and inactions, in particular William’s.
True story: I was at a costume party where someone showed up in an Imperial Officer’s uniform from Star Wars, but it was so similar to an SS officer uniform that people were uncomfortable and he was asked to leave. Moral being it is socially unacceptable in nearly every environment. Appreciate so much that Harry doesn’t hide from this incident and faces it head on, but it’s also a searing indictment of the whole aristo culture.
Harry knows he was wrong. He publicly apologized. I think it is more his resentment of William thinking it was funny and all the saint will spin.
Harry isn’t casting blame on anyone and has never done that.
Harry titled the book SPARE because he’s so clearly done being the spare.
They are going to be doing THE MOST to try to discredit this book before it officially drops next week. I’m in the camp that Harry is doing the right thing here — he’s apologized and taken accountability for this horrendous incident, and done the work so that he would never do such a thing again. William (and Kate, we now see) have not ever had to be accountable for a damn thing. This isn’t Harry deflecting or trying to push off blame on to others — this is him saying enough is enough — since his birth the world has been force-fed this false image of William the Wise, the benevolent older brother with brains and social empathy when in actuality he is the complete antithesis of that. This has to be so cathartic to Harry to finally get to speak his truth. I can’t even imagine how maddening and mentally taxing it must have been and must be for Harry to be bashed, attacked, put down, and lied on day in and day out for literally your entire life, while your toxic narcissist of a brother gets to be deified for no good reason other than the fortune of birth order, all while he treats you and then your wife like utter shit. William is NOT a good person, and the mask is about to be ripped off. I’m 100% here for this…it’s been a long time coming.
Harry isn’t giving Kate a pass. If she was there and laughed, she deserves to be lumped in with everyone else. Kate could have said don’t do it. Harry never signed any contract to keep Kate’s name out of the papers like Burger King did. Meghan said she was told “The Duchess of Cambridge does not get dragged into gossip.” I am so glad to see that Harry is not SPARING Kate. Maybe if Kate had stuck up for Meghan Harry would feel some loyalty to her. But she clearly stoked the fire and enjoyed it. Happy Birthday Week Kate. It’s going to be your best ever.
An example of the “happy to lie for my brother” while Harry is fed to the press. Enough. Harry is a grown man now and not a CYA tool to be used by his family.
He chose to wear the costume. It doesn’t matter what was going on in the periphery. I don’t care that he felt badly afterwards. It was a disgusting and thoughtless thing to do. Some of you will make excuses for him. Ask yourself if you would make those excuses if it was someone you didn’t like that had done the same thing.
There are many many problems with applying this mindset to Harry and William and their aristo friends. They live in their own bubble. They are racist to everyone who isn’t them. If the people around you don’t think it’s thoughtless and disgusting, that changes the situation, especially if you’ve been in the situation from birth. Harry is in the position of someone who escaped from Scientology or a similar organization.
As a Jew I can tell you that forgiveness towards those who have made restitution is a mitzvah. Repentance is a large portion of forgiveness for us and Harry went through the process of teshuvah.
Beautifully stated 👏🏾👏🏾
Literally, no one on this thread is making excuses. But I do think it’s interesting how folks want to ignore William’s costume that night (he wore Black face). Or the context of how Will and Kate’s own racism played a role in how they went on to treat their Black sister-in-law.
@Linder
Where on here has anyone made excuses for him? I can remember being disgusted at the time and wondering how troops could fight for “Queen and Country” when her grandson was wearing that uniform. What I find admirable is that Harry has repeatedly said he’s ashamed of what he did, and makes no excuses.
What I find totally reprehensible is that the FK and his GF found it funny and had actively encouraged him to wear it. I KNOW if it had been my friend/brother I would have told them to take it off. Mind you I wouldn’t have encouraged him to wear it in the first place. I’m not giving Harry a free pass on this but, I’m not giving William and Kate a pass either. W&K are our future King and Queen Consort and the stories which are now surfacing about them is damaging the monarchy more than anything Harry has said, done or WORN! IMHO W&K are vile low lifes who deserve everything that’s coming to them.
Meghan made Kate cry my ass, as we say over here in blighty.
Nobody is denying or excusing that, least of all Harry. The point of this is to show how his bad behavior was made an example of when the whole bunch was indulging in racist stereotypes. But the heir must be protected at all costs.
Nobody is excusing Harry’s behavior. No one. Nobody should excuse Will’s and Kate’s behavior either. No one.
Pointing out W’s abominable behavior isn’t excusing Harry’s abominable behavior. So tired of that weak (and wrong) talking point. People can be critical of Harry AND W’s behavior at the same time, the two things are not mutually exclusive.
Harry has never denied that he was wrong to do this and he took steps to address this behaviour. That doesn’t mean William and Kate weren’t also wrong for simply laughing about it and condoning his wearing of the racist costume.
I don’t think anyone gives Harry a pass for this egregious mistake.
However, said Rabbi Sacks at the time: “The fact that the palace has issued an apology indicates that this was a mistake by the prince. But having been given, the apology should now be accepted.”
And Harry has apologized repeatedly.
Oh haaaaaaai Linder – long days since we’ve seen each other. Weren’t u saying how much a doll Kate was for doing her neutral colour bit and how Meghan and Harry should just shush – good times
Huh? I love Harry and don’t think much of William and Kate, but this feels like a stretch… Why tell this story? They are awful people but they aren’t responsible for his choices? Like “we were all laughing” isn’t great in any direction… Love Harry, but this feels like a bad choice…
Because Harry didn’t wear the costume in a vacuum. And William and Kate were protected from being mentioned in this situation in the papers but Harry was not, because of the invisible contract, and THAT is a huge part of his point. And the racism of their mindsets is why they persecuted Meghan.
People objecting to Harry mentioning William and Kate are not maintaining perspective of what he is saying.
I think you’re missing the point. Harry was vilified for wearing that costume – a costume his brother SUGGESTED and egged him on to wear. Meanwhile, William wore literal BLACKFACE to the same party and was protected by the press while Harry was dragged. No one – including Harry – is excusing what he did. But context matters.
OK.
@AMEERAH, 💯% agree that context matters. I’m thinking that the way William & Kate use the “Never Complain, Never Explain” mantra in this situation is somewhat similar to the “Meghan Made Kate Cry!” story. They watched the explosive bomb go off on Harry in the costume situation and didn’t say or do anything to take any form of responsibility or show remorse for their encouragement. They also did a “Duck & Cover” on the crying story and did nothing to change or correct the narrative. It’s their MO which shows a pattern of how they handle things so they won’t be judged for being horrible & despicable.
To parrot ur own response – ok
lol
I had a gut feeling this incident was one of the palace’s biggest fears about the book. Willy and Mutton need to get down on their knees and profusely thank Harry and the publisher for not releasing Spare before their Boston flop trip. They may have been very differently received.
So, we’re y’all referring to this photo of William dressed as a Zulu man? 🤔
https://mobile.twitter.com/17_audie/status/1610988090390183938
Oh, wow, is that him in the back? And is that Zara dancing with him because it sure looks like her.
Better keep a copy of that photo locked up somewhere. Most of Will’s misbehavior has been scrubbed from the internet.
That is definitely Zara. Is she dancing with William? I can’t tell.
It definitely looks like his manic grin, doesn’t it?
And what are those women dressed as in those appalling costumes? Airline stewardesses?
A dig at Kate’s mom maybe? Probably not, but this was the era of “doors to manual” among William’s friends.
Are we really surprised? I remember when during the “breakup” she was papped hanging out repeatedly with Emma Sayle (the head of the Dragon boat charity race team) who wanted to round up all Muslims and shoot them. Kate’s dressed up in “Indian” headdresses. The recoiling from Lebron James and the Jamaican Minister of Culture. She’s no better than William.
This isn’t about passing off the responsibility. It’s about explaining the environment that normalized Harry’s decision, and why the people in that same environment were trying to get rid of his wife.
And how people in same environment who acted just as badly were protected while the one was scapegoated (over and over again) publicly.
His problems aren’t just rich people problems. Harry and Meghan have had to deal with racism, misogyny, abuse, jealousy, bullying all on the world stage. People who have been through similar things can relate to what they have been though. People who haven’t, don’t get it. That’s why it’s important to speak out. Telling people to ‘stop complaining’ is another way of silencing victims and enables abusers to keep doing what they are doing.
There are literal pictures of William online from the party. He was dressed as a Zulu warrior and they tried to say he was a “lion”. It was the same party.
We all suspected/knew that William was behind the Nazi uniform but I’m genuinely surprised – but proud of Harry- for going there.
Me and harry are the same age and both from the uk. In 2005 I don’t think anyone in my environment would think dressing like a nazi would be appropriate. Harry’s environment however was completely different to mine. At that time when his only friends were rich aristos, that nazi costume would have been hilarious, he wouldn’t have worn it otherwise.
It was only when Harry left that environment during his time in the army and actually broadened his mind, was he able to grow as a person. Although he knew it was wrong afterwards when the pic leaked, it took personal growth to really realise why it was wrong.
Willie and keen laughing at the costume is not surprising at all. These two haven’t evolved at all, and would still think it’s hilarious today, because that costume is a reflection of the aristo mindset.
Read up on the now defunct annual Bongo Ball at St. Andrews. An annual Africa themed party where rich white kinds dressed up in in the vein of William’s Out of Africa birthday bash and allegedly also blackface and monkey costumes. That ball was founded in 2008!
I think this is after Will and Kate’s time there but it reveals something about the mindset of the upper class students that congregate at this university.
There is a story about one of the parties where there was a slave auction and William bought Kate as his slave. They have taken part in a lot of racist events that none of this should be a shock.
Nic919, Wow. I didn’t know that story. Yikes.
Someone should tell the aristos that its possible to have a party without having a racist theme. Just have a party for crying out loud. Good lord.
They are missing the big point – Harry took ownership and steps necessary to educate himself and become a better man. Willy never did any of that work. He is still that guy that laughs at a Nazi uniform.
The chick that throws back “Crack Baby” cocktails loved an anti-Semitic costume? I’m shocked!
Say what??
Really??
Yep. She’s been cited as saying her (and maybe Will’s, I don’t remember his specifically) favourite cocktails were called “Crack Babies.” Much entertaining speculation about her phony cut-glass accent ordering “two Crack Babies, and do keep them coming, dahling” went on after it was revealed.
There was also a story about that after their Flop tour.
The common theme from the images that I saw from that party was – inappropiatedness.
That included William’s.
The coverage showed how blatant the media at the time was about their abuse of Harry.
They further used his behaviour to justify their abuse.
Kate and William’s laughter is an indication of their mindsets in that specific situation.
Bless their hearts.
Not surprising that William and Kate encouraged Harry to wear a Nazi costume; they’ve been showing the world how racist, incompetent and narcissistic they are for years now. What is interesting is that you would think William as 3rd in line to the throne (at the time) has been educated by the Queen Mother, QEII, Philip or Charles on the history of their family having a prominent Nazi-sympathizer/supporter in the former Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, who was actively betraying the British during WWII. This further emphasizes William’s utter unsuitability for the throne: he’s too dumb to appreciate that by encouraging Harry to wear the Nazi costume (and possibly leaking the photos?), he is establishing a modern-day visual connection between the Windsors and the Nazis.
All this discussion is doing is making the rest of us dig up the MANY ties to the Nazis that the Windsors had, lol, and I’m not even talking about Edward VIII!
Kate has made several visits with Holocaust survivors and King Charles and the late Queen have been involved with the Holocaust Trust. These aren’t anti-Semitic people.
As for the Nazi uniform, the only place that it’s acceptable to wear one is a movie set. Anyone with ANY knowledge of history would be sickened at the thought of wearing a Nazi symbol.
PR. The entire establishment is anti-Semitic. The patronages and visits are performative. The Windsors themselves had ties to the Nazis: Philip’s sisters, Charlie Coburg, the Duke of Kent. There were plenty of British aristos who considered war with the Nazis too wasteful and supported Hitler’s ideas anyway (Pamela Mitford for one wanted an English version of the Final Solution). That didn’t magically disappear in Charles’s generation nor that of his sons. The grandkids of these people were the ones attending this party and laughing over the costume.
Their work with Jewish organizations is meaningful in the way that Ngozi Fulani being forced to do a photo-op with Lady Susan Hussey shows how “not racist” they are.
@C. All of them should have known better.
And Harry does, now. He’s the only one who did that work.
It would have been so much better If the “INSTITUTION” paid for the security. Truly unbelievable decision making on their part for a work team member, who also happens to be a beloved son.
Soooo….forgive me if I missed anybody else in the thread that mentioned this but isn’t it kind of gross in the first place that the theme was “natives and colonials”? Like really? It’s a setup for shady, racist costuming.
I remember at the time that it wasn’t even the only Natives and Colonials party in those circles. At least two others were reported in the media (remembering old news stories is my superpower), like it was a standard costume party theme, the way Tarts and Vicars was.
I know right? Like why would Harry or ANYONE go to a racist party like that in the first place? What the hell?
Because they are all arrogant, spoiled, rich toffs, many of whom are members of the very family that enslaved, pillaged and ripped off millions of violently colonized people of colour. Their racial *superiority* is bred into these people to the point where they lampoon other cultures as inferiors, the butt of jokes. They don’t know any better, and certainly a barely out of his teens *spare* wouldn’t have a fully developed sense of empathy or remorse about it, he just wanted to play along so he wouldn’t get slagged off by the others.
Nope nope nope, sorry. This is ALL Harry’s doing. He decided to wear that horrible uniform. He was an ADULT. He should have known better. It was ultimately his choice. We can not blame anyone else but him.
This is getting silly. Please point me to where he said “my brother knocked me out and Kate dressed me in it.” Please point me to where he said “I had no responsibility.” Please point me to where he said “Blame others, not me.”
You’re not curious as to why this party happened in the first place? You’re not curious about the hidden racist kinks of the people who used him as their fall guy? You’re willing to ignore the racist context not only that he speaks about but what is given historical context here in this post and comments? Harry’s already apologized and done the work. The time to shine a light on the context of the cult he grew up in is now, when he’s shown himself to have moved far past it and the rest of them haven’t. Saying that he is deflecting blame is what the British tabloids are saying. If you want to echo them, you do you.
Wow ok calm down girl. I never said any of that. My comment was about people on this site trying to place blame on Will and Kate. No, sorry. the blame is on Harry. I never said Harry didn’t apologize or take blame for it. I know he did. Also, don’t lecture me about racism. I’m a WOC, and I used to live in England. I know what’s up.
My apologies.
Nobody on this site blamed William and Kate for it.
They most assuredly can be blamed for their own racism and anti-Semitism which has gone unchecked to this day, however, due to the systemic journalistic problems inherent in the UK that Harry is illustrating by telling this story and which is the entire point of it. The conversation of “Harry is the only one to blame” is what the tabloids are all repeating and it’s the same situation – their own anti-Semitism is covered up by using him as a prop (hell, the Daily Mail pretty much officially endorsed Hitler and his policies and the Rothermeres are still horrifying, and I imagine kids from families like that were the ones attending this party and thinking it was hilarious).
no one is blaming will and kate – at least not entirely.
I think @C was the one who said something above about Harry explaining how this did not happen in a vacuum. I know never to wear a Nazi costume, and you know never to wear a Nazi costume – it just seems like common sense. But in this insulated racist group, that was having a “colonials and natives” themed party a few years after William’s “Africa” themed 21st bday party…..where the future king of GB “howled” with laughter when he saw it…..is it any wonder the wrongness of it wasn’t as obvious to Harry at the time?
He was encouraged to wear it. Harry’s “spare” status meant that he was always seeking approval from higher-ups. He learned to be a people pleaser, likely to avoid being shat on by his brother and meatheads like Mike Tindall. The whole theme of that party was vile, colonialist and racist — why weren’t the higher-ups castigated for it?
Racism should be held to account, and Harry has repeatedly taken full ownership for his racist actions and apologized. William and Kate also have culpability in this racist incident and they should, like Harry, own up to their problematic role and mindset, apologize, and do better.
Funny how some are trying to spin this as Harry trying to avoid accountability but aren’t calling for accountability for William and Kate. Funny how they have no problem with exposing celebrities and public figures for racism except when it comes to this couple.