Job Discussion Forums

john henry · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 44

Oye, in a monumental lapse of judgement, Prince Harry decided it would be a good idea to go to a costume party dressed as a Nazi.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-01-13-prince-harry_x.htm

I don't know on what planet anyone ever thinks this is a good idea, but one would think that THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND would have read a bit of Wiesel. Unfortunately, this is a pretty bad mistake, and people will be bringing up that photo for the rest of his life.

When I think of Kings and Princes and such, I think of battle hardened, worldly men who lead through strength, experience, etc....Most likely i watch to many movies. It really makes me wonder if these guys are too sheltered from their world.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

I don't understand what the fuss is about. He wore a costume to a costume party. Hell, my best friend went to a costume party dressed as Hitler once. Big deal. Rolling Eyes

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Hmmm. Maybe Tony Blair should have gone as a nazi?

Maybe not. Gilding the lily and all that....

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Someone who is 2nd or 3rd in line for the throne of England should have a little more sense than this. Doesn't say much for his Eton education.

Is650, you don't think the prince has more responsibility than us peasants or that photographers would be around? That would make him even more stupid.

Nagoyaguy · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: Aichi, Japan

I agree that it was a bonehead thing to do for the kid.

Still, the reaction is a little overboard. I mean, really. Calls for Harry to make a "penance run" to a concentration camp to prove how sorry he is. Bunch of crap. It would be better if his old man just slapped him around a little.

It makes me wonder, though- he got the uniform at a costume shop. What the hell kind of shop stocks Nazi uniforms?!?

osakajojo · Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 229

I heard it was a "bad-taste" party. If this is the case, than it was a good costume. And his brother dressed as a lion! That's funny.

As far as bad-taste costume parties go, I have heard of costumes like September 11th Survivors (covered in chalk) and Lacey Peterson costumes (complete with fetis) Now that's bad taste!

Twisting in the Wind · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 571 Location: Purgatory

Nagoyaguy · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: Aichi, Japan

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

I bet the first hack to jump on this issue was a tabloid reporter. Wasn't it? Well, I don't know, but I guess..

Anyway, for Harry to have worn a Nazi outfit is a disgrace, to be sure; but if the guy were called George or Kid or Guenther or Francois it would have been just the same although fewer if anybody would have paid any attention. Nazi costums can, apparently, still be bought or borrowed, so there seems still to be some market. A couple of Hong Kong bars and businesses too have over the last few years made headlines by displaying Nazi memorabilia. Every time the Jewish community raised a big stink, partially justifably so.

But in the case of a monarch's son one expects better judgement, doesn't one? Not me, though. They are humans too. And why should a young lad like Harry know Europe's history as well as his tutors and mentors? I think a young person wants to live in the Here and Now, not in the past and not be bothered too much about his future.

I would say the true issue here is: how much does the public overexpect from living national symbols? Not every prince is an angel, nor should they be. Holland's Prince Bernard died a bitter man - because the protocol was so severe it was an inhuman strain on his heart. Japan's princess is under duress too, apparently because of the severity of the restrictions which apply to aristocracy (she was a former diplomat and used to travel around the world).

So, I think Harry's pranks should be judged differently. As for Nazi memorabilia, if no law can outlaw them then ignore them.

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

Perhaps he had a bit too much of da ganja to realize what he was wearing?

I don't see the big deal, really. I'm the same age as him (same birthday too) and it's something that my friends would do. He's just barely out of his teens and wants to have fun. I can't believe how people expect him and his brother to be some sort of stuffy aristocrats. Come on! Just let him be the goof that we all were at that age.

Atlas · Joined: 09 Jun 2003 Posts: 662 Location: By-the-Sea PRC

I knew an old guy who was a US soldier at the Nuremberg trial. Said he was once in a little town in France, went into a bar just as a Nazi was coming out. They stopped and looked at each other, and there was no one else around. He drew his gun and shot the Nazi dead.

Had a lunch once with a Bomber nose-gunner who was part of the drop on Dresden. The hostess of the lunch was in Dresden at the time of the air raid. Talk about a cold room.

Met a fighter pilot once who flew missions over Japan. He said the zeroes came in together like a bulldozer. He flew through a cloud and suddenly descended upon one by chance, fired his machine guns and shot him down. You could see the deepest pain and regret in his old eyes.

Royally bad taste from an immature kid. He'll pay the price for all the flak it will garner him through his life. Plan his publicity stunts a little more carefully I should think. That is, if royal credibility means anything anymore.

Laura C · Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 211 Location: Saitama

The trip to the concentration camp isn't for penance. It was already arranged as part of Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan 27. The queen is hosting some Holocaust survivors on that day. A tad insensitive, Harry!

L

PS -- The Guardian online have a couple of good pieces on this story, including one defending Harry.

ouyang · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 193 Location: on them internets

Some historical context might make the reaction to this event more understandable. Harry's family name is Windsor, but this is ficticious. He is (supposedly) descended from the house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Note that these are both German names. One comes from King George I from Hanover who parliament recruited after the reign of the barren Queen Anne and the other from the German Prince Albert, who married Queen Victoria. Albert never really learned to speak English very well.

The Saxe-Coburg's changed their name after World War I to distance themselves from cousin Willhelm, who used to exchange uniforms with his cousin, King Edward VII when they were playing soldiers. This was before cousin Willie started World War I and a generation of Englishmen was almost wiped out.

King Edward VIII, the abdicator, often met publicly with Nazis, who wanted to re-establish him on the throne because of his sympathies with them.

This is a simplified account from an American, but you obviously see what I'm referring to. Harry's action has historical significance beyond what would be a typical lark for someone his age. His royal family is already insecure about their modern position and he's made a reference to an earlier insecurity.

I don't think it's that big of a deal. What's far more important is that he and his brother are likable, like his late mother was. But given their obsession with tradition and such, you can see why the royal establishment has been ruffled.

sigmoid · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276

It doesn't really matter. The royal family of the UK doesn't have any significance thesedays except as a quaint novelty.

sojourner · Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

Ouyang,

For an American, you know quite a lot about the Royal Family - I'm genuinely impressed ! Even in the UK, I doubt whether many people are really aware of the Royal Family's German heritage. But it wasn't just the UK, during WWI, that tried to sever its ties with almost everything that had German connotations. For example, in Sth Australia, a jam-filled doughnut is still referred to as a "kitchener bun", named after the British field marshall, Lord Kitchener - prior to the outbreak of that war, such delicacies were known as "berliners". Did the same sort of thing happen in the US after that country entered WW I ?

Just a minor point. The cousin that Kaiser Wilhelm II would have played with when he was a kid would have been the future George V - NOT Edward VII.

- - - - - - - - -
Sigmoid,

The Royal Family may be regarded either as "quaint", or a source of amusement, to the scandal-obsessed masses who thrive on what the tabloids regularly dish up. However, the Queen is still the UK's head of state. Also, the Crown symbolises stability, continuity and national unity. I'd imagine that many Americans would be rather envious of one important aspect of the British system - of having a non-party head of state !

Peter