The Royal Family is trying to do damage control on Prince Harry….and the VERY LATEST NEWS is that the Prince will " make a private personal apology to the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for wearing a Nazi costume with the swastika armband to a friend’s fancy dress party."
England’s Prince Harry has been in a fix: being quite young and reportedly prone to enjoy mildly shocking behavior, he wore an armband with a swastika at a friend’s party….near a person with a camera…who snapped a picture…which was gleefully plastered on papers put out by England’s legendarily sensationalistic Fleet Street journalists.
The "’bloids" in particular had a field day. And so did the Jewish and veterans’ groups that found it outrageous that the third in line to the British throne could even jokingly embrace a symbol not only considered near-universally obscene but that caused so many World War II deaths of British citizens.
Harry issued a perfunctory "statement" (anytime a p.r. person issues a "statement" you know it is not a quote but a carefully worded message that’s usually bland and vetted to avoid future problems) expressing regret. And there were reports that Harry’s Daddy, Prince Charles, wanted him to visit the Nazi camp Auschwitz, to teach him about what the Nazis REALLY did to Jews and others there — and to send a strong signal of apology for the upset groups.
But reports said the Royal Family didn’t want the Prince won’t visiting the infamous Nazi death camp (the updated report below suggests he and his brother may visit, but privately):
Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, will not visit Auschwitz, site of the Nazi death camp, a spokesman for the royal family said Friday, a day after publication of a photo of the prince wearing a swastika armband at a friend’s costume party created the latest in a series of public relations nightmares for Britain’s royal family.
The Sun, the newspaper that published the picture, had reported that Harry, along with his brother, William, who also attended the party, had been ordered by Prince Charles to visit Auschwitz, perhaps for the 60th anniversary of the liberation other camp on Jan. 27.
But as Jewish groups and newspapers around the world criticized or ridiculed Prince Harry, the royal family sought to put the matter behind it, saying the prince – who had issued a statement apologizing for a "poor choice of costume"- planned no further, public display of contrition.
"There are no plans for the princes to visit Auschwitz," said a spokesman, speaking on the condition that he not be identified.
"Since Harry realized how poorly chosen his costume was, he’s been very keen to apologize. We don’t want to keep dragging this thing out he spokesman said the Royal Family had received a number of invitations from Jewish groups and other organizations for Harry, 20, to privately attend lectures or other events.
But visits to Auschwitz by Harry or his brother are not on the agenda, he added. Harry’s appearance at a friend’s birthday party in the khaki uniform of a German World War II soldier, with a swastika on his arm, prompted outraged reactions in newspapers across Britain and Continental Europe.
"In an England still obsessed by the Second World War, the prince could hardly have made a worse mistake," said the Belgian daily De Tijd, according to Agence France-Presse.
While Prince Harry’s costume shocked many Britons, displays of Nazi imagery may carry fewer taboos here than in, say, Germany, where they could be a criminal offense.
While other Europeans try to put World War II behind them, Britons can relive it virtually every evening through television documentaries, and Hitler and the Nazis often appear in the British media as targets for humor, not a subject of horror.
Mel Brooks’s stage version of "The Producers," which has been playing in London’s West End, features singers in Nazi garb. John Cleese spoofed British attitudes about Germans in the "Faulty Towers" when he goose-stepped around a seaside guesthouse. And Richard Desmond, the owner of two other tabloids, the Express and the Star, recently re-enacted that famous scene during a business meeting with executives of the Telegraph newspaper.
But British editorialists also turned out in force to condemn Harry’s decision to wear the outfit. . "Prince Harry seems less interested in preparing for a life of royal service than auditioning for the role of village idiot," The Guardian said.
Why? Because a)the number of people in England killed by the Nazis, particularly in battle and in bombings, b)lingering controversy over allegations that some members of the Royal Family were sympathetic to the Nazis, c)the image of the Monarchy, which is not in the most popular stage of its existence today.
On the other hand, The Moderate Voice, from his ethnic perspective as someone with a last name like "Gandelman" needs to say this:
- People make dumb mistakes when they’re young.
- People also make dumb mistakes when they’re adults — notably the ones that are elected.
- The Jewish and veterans groups that are absolutely demanding that unless he visit the concentration camp amid lots of publicity he is — they hint — a secret bigot are practicing more garbage PC. He can show his regret in other ways besides turning a solemn site into a place where photographers snap his picture not in memory of what happened there but as part of a political story. The emphasis would be on "Harry is eating crow" not "Do you realize these Nazi monsters brutally murdered innocent men, women and tiny children here in the name of a warped racist ideology?"
So Harry will survive…and if this is REALLY about making sure he doesn’t take Nazism lightly, critics will not turn this into a power struggle over forcing Harry to show up at Auschwitz. And he could turn out stronger and wiser after this.
But, Harry: next year if you go to a costume party wearing a tiny black mustache, and holding a flesh-colored lampshade with the tattooed name "Schlomo Schwartz" on it, all bets are off…
NOTE: The Outside The Beltway Traffic Jam is up.
THE LATEST UPDATE (Saturday): Prince Harry (and his brother also, basically for enabling) will apologize to England’s top Jewish leader:
London, Jan 15 (UNI) Prince Harry will make a
private personal apology to the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew
Congregations of the Commonwealth for wearing a Nazi costume with the
swastika armband to a friend’s fancy dress party.Condemned by
the world media for his insensitivity to the feelings of many families
of the Holocaust victims, Harry apologised for wearing the uniform. But
the outcry has not abated.His elder brother Prince Williams has
also been criticised for not preventing Harry from renting the costume.
Both had gone together to hire their costumes.Sources say
Prince Charles was ”very angry” and ”appalled” at Harry’s behaviour
but will not ask him to make a public apology. A private meeting with
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Dr
Jonathan Sacks, was also arranged at his initiative. Harry could then
atone for his mistake.The two brothers, William and Harry, are
also slated to privately visit the exhibition during the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It is said the visit would
help them understand the depth of outrage caused by Harry wearing the
Nazi uniform.
SECOND NEW UPDATE: England’s The Independent newspapers says the Prince of Wales was warned that Harry’s "racist and bigoted set must be curbed:
The Prince of Wales has been warned by one of his senior advisers
that he must act urgently to separate his sons from a "social scene
that thinks racism and bigotry quite funny", The Independent on Sunday
has learned.Prince Charles was told that his sons’ media image has become a "bad
joke" in the wake of pictures showing Prince Harry wearing Nazi
insignia. The senior adviser said: "There has been this attempt to
portray them as symbols of modern Britain, with charity work and so on,
which just makes people who actually know them laugh. They are part of
a social scene which thinks racism and bigotry quite funny."He added that Prince Harry’s behaviour had deteriorated over a
number of years and that he had been allowed to "get away with an awful
lot".The depth of concern among courtiers over the 20-year-old’s wayward
behaviour was underlined yesterday as one admitted they dare not expose
him to the cameras to make the apology that many have been demanding of
him. Instead, it is expected that the 20-year-old will hold a private
meeting with Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, as soon as possible this
week. Prince Charles’s aides hope that confirmation of the one-to-one
tutorial on the Holocaust by Dr Sacks will put an end to the media
storm prompted by pictures of the "Nazi prince".
Earlier UPDATE: It sounds like the Royal Family has some wise advisors: it has been decided to send the Prince to a Holocaust memorial:
Prince Harry is expected to be sent on a private visit to a
Holocaust memorial in order to understand the offence given by his
wearing of a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.According to royal sources, any trip would be made after the current
furore has died down and could be in the company of his brother, Prince
William, who is now said to feel that he should share some blame for
the incident. Although there is an extensive display at the Imperial
War Museum, the most likely place for such a visit in Britain is the
Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre in Nottingham, which extended an
invitation to the Prince to visit its exhibition and meet survivors
yesterday.A trip to Auschwitz is less likely, although not completely ruled
out, and it was made clear that Clarence House would not agree to calls
that the Prince should accompany his uncle, the Earl of Wessex, on a
pre-planned trip to the death camp later this month for the ceremony to
mark the 60th anniversary of its liberation. The Queen will be meeting
Holocaust survivors in London on the same day.A Clarence House source said: "We have not ruled anything out and
will give consideration to a number of invitations we have received in
due course. A trip to something such as a Holocaust centre remains a
possibility."Prince William feels as any brother would about the matter, that he shares some of the responsibility for what happened."
And it’s also good to hear that mainstream Jewish groups have accepted his apology. Find me a Jewish parent who will tell you they don’t have a kid who hasn’t screwed up (although they don’t usually wear swastikas).
Meanwhile, Prince Charles’s paternal protection mode reportedly kicked in:
Prince Charles is refusing to force Harry to visit Auschwitz or make a TV
apology for his Nazi fancy dress stunt.The Prince of Wales is angry that his son is being pilloried for what he
regards as a silly but harmless prank and wants to shelter him from further bad
publicity. But the outrage over 20-year-old Harry’s decision to attend a party
in a German soldier’s uniform with a swastika armband continues to reverberate
around the world.Newspapers and television stations in Israel, Germany, Italy and the US have
already condemned Harry as stupid and insensitive. But after a series of
meetings with senior officials, Charles made it clear that he would refuse to
bow to political pressure from senior British politicians, including Tory leader
Michael Howard, who demanded Harry make a personal apology.Charles told his senior advisers he will not allow his son to be "hung out to
dry". One senior official told the Standard: "As far as the Prince is concerned
Harry has apologised for his mistake. He has said sorry and that is the end of
the matter."It has been decided that after Clarence House’s contrite statement yesterday
nothing more would be added and there will be no gesture such as a public trip
by Harry to the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Unless the most recent updated report is wrong…it sounds like in the end the Royal Advisors decided more drastic damage control action needed to be taken.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.