# Prince Harry dresses as a Nazi - so what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540 "2005-01-13T11:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/61 "2005-01-14T12:40:30Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > (BTW Diana was quite astonishingly thick - even by Sloane standards. She only passed one CSE, in child care (the irony!). Fair enough. But I never heard about her being a bad mom, or a bad person. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/62 "2005-01-14T12:50:42Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > Was Diana considered stupid? I’ve never heard that. Generally perceived as thick as two short planks. Her scholastic achievements were non-existent - she got IIRC one CSE (second-class qualification achieved at age 16 - most people of average intelligence would achieve about 7 or 8) in something Home Economics. If she had been in the US she’d have been a high school drop-out, despite being from a sector of society that has access to the best tutelage available in the best private educational institutions, and a tendency to achieve far better results than the non-privileged. Of course, this might have been down to emotional problems, but I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/63 "2005-01-14T13:00:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > she got IIRC one CSE… in something Home Economics… That was both badly written and wrong. I defer to the **owl**. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/64 "2005-01-14T13:02:18Z")
I feel sorry for poor Harry. He’s 20 and obviously a bit of a lad. He was off to a mates birthday do. He wasn’t thinking “will this offend the entire planet?”, he was thinking he was about to have a good night out. Yes, to many the costume was offensive but he was at a private party, he didn’t expect it to be headline news (I hope someone gives the shit that sold the pic a kicking) . Yes he should probably always expect that everytime he farts it will be in the news but he is 20! As **Eve** pointed out, Margaret was often in trouble and Andrew was never a good boy as a young thing. They grew out of it, Harry will too. I think Charles has handled the sitution well. I’m sure poor Harry feels like shit. Just imagine if your stupid adolescent moments were scrutinised by the world’s press, how glowing would the headlines be? Give the poor boy a bit of slack… his mother was a doofus after all. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/65 "2005-01-14T13:11:44Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Generally perceived as thick as two short planks. Her scholastic achievements were non-existent - she got IIRC one CSE (second-class qualification achieved at age 16 - most people of average intelligence would achieve about 7 or 8) in something Home Economics. If she had been in the US she’d have been a high school drop-out, despite being from a sector of society that has access to the best tutelage available in the best private educational institutions, and a tendency to achieve far better results than the non-privileged. Of course, this might have been down to emotional problems, but I doubt it. A small point but the daughters of Earls tend not to be taught too much in the way of calculus etc - it’s more how to make the perfect souffle and how to get out of a sports car gracefully - it’s more Lucy Clayton than Marie Curie. owl - married to a Lucy Clayton old girl, who gets out of sports cars very well. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/66 "2005-01-14T13:13:04Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > Fair enough. But I never heard about her being a bad mom, or a bad person. Don’t get me started - No really don’t! _wanders off muttering about empty-headed self-serving coke-addled slappers_ ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/67 "2005-01-14T13:24:04Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m surprised the family’s Nazi members haven’t gotten more press. (Prince Philip’s sisters were all married to Nazi officers and as such were not invited to his wedding to the Princess Elizabeth.) True. But the fact that their mother was one of the [Righteous among the Nations](http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous/index_righteous.html) usually gets even less publicity. And, for future reference, what are the PC guidelines on appropriate costumes for ‘Natives and Colonials’ fancy-dress parties? ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/68 "2005-01-14T13:36:18Z")
This is the bit which always seems a bit odd to me > [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > 1. He come from a German family anyway. How so? Queen Victoria’s husband, aka Prince Albert, aka Harry’s great great grandfather was German. The rest of 'em on the paternal side were all British, were they not, apart from his grandpa Phil? So if people want to say that he and William are some sort of a foreigners (O MY GOD! THE HORROR!!) why do we never hear that they’re a quarter Greek? Really, why does the German tag persist? Anyone less British than the British Royal Family, you’d be hard pressed to find. Unless of course you’re talking about Diana’s mob, who are exceedingly English and can apparently trace their Englishness (and hence their Britishness) back to Jesus\*, or something equally as silly. And anyway, even if it _is_ Prince Albert who brings the in the idea that the British Royal Family are German, being a German is not the same as being a Nazi. Surely the Nazis hadn’t been invented when Albert was around? \*Yes, I’m being facetious. No, I don’t think Jesus was English. Or British. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/69 "2005-01-14T13:42:17Z")
> [@Domokun](#): > > I think it’s more a dismissive attitude to anyone not of blue blood than _real_ racism. And what’s up with that? Aren’t we all descended from Charlemagne and William the Conqueror? Royalty is one thing, but something about there being a “Duke of Glouster” in the 21st century makes me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/70 "2005-01-14T13:52:00Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I dunno. I remember guys wearing SS insignia on jean jackets when I was in HS (late '70’s). I am not saying these guys were looked up to or “cool” but I do think there is a fascination with Nazi regalia. There is a difference between “nobodys” and Prince Harry. There is a difference (and a huge one) between the Midwest of the United States - where we lost soldiers - and England - where they lost civilian children to Nazi bombings. Granted, not quite as gauche as a political figure showing up in Tel Aviv wearing Nazi regalia… It was stupid. It shouldn’t be a huge deal thought - lapse of judgement common in twenty something young men. But, I too, question what his handlers were thinking…and if he doesn’t have handlers, it might not be a bad idea to get some. That’s why celebrities have handlers…because I can make stupid mistakes when I’m twenty and the pictures get tossed in a box and forgotten - unless I suddenly become a film star. He makes stupid mistakes and the photos end up splattered all over the paper within 48 hours - and will get dredged up again if he ever says anything that might be seen as anti-semetic. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/71 "2005-01-14T14:11:54Z")
My worry is that when he finally gets to Sandhurst and qualifies as an officer he starts ordering his troops to do the goose-step. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/72 "2005-01-14T16:12:39Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > He, Roger CLinton, and Billy Carter’s ghost should form a band and call themselves “The Fredo’s” or something. Frank Stallone could sing. Okay, I keep hearing about Billy Carter (mostly thanks to the Simpsons) and I still have no idea who he is except for Jimmy’s brother. Someone care to elucidate? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/73 "2005-01-14T17:13:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Maybe he shouold go to Auschwitz; sounds like that would be a good, ignorance-fighting idea in any case… > [@](#): > > The Sun newspaper, which broke the story Thursday by publishing a photo of Harry wearing a swastika armband and Nazi regalia, reported that Charles was “incandescent with rage” over the incident. … > > “There will be no publicity and they will go with a Jewish charity,” an unnamed royal source was quoted as saying in the tabloid. [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/01/14/harry-050114.html](http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/01/14/harry-050114.html) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/74 "2005-01-14T17:17:24Z")
> [@curly chick](#): > > No, I don’t think Jesus was English. > Or British. 😛 Of course not, Jesus was of Judah, we of Anglo-British heritage are of Joseph (the tribe, not the Nazarene carpenter patron of Step-Dads everywhere _S_). Seriously, it was a stupid stunt which still would have been meaningless if he had not been a member of The Family. Yeah, he should go to the Holocaust Memorial, and really should broadcast an apology. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/75 "2005-01-14T19:18:43Z")
> [@curly chick](#): > > No, I don’t think Jesus was English. > Or British. 😛 Jesus was an Israeli/Palestinian. However it is beyond doubt that God is an Englishman. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/76 "2005-01-14T20:56:09Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Okay, I keep hearing about Billy Carter (mostly thanks to the Simpsons) and I still have no idea who he is except for Jimmy’s brother. Someone care to elucidate? He was given an opportunity to help with negotiations for the Iranian hostages, and bungled it. He marketed his own brand of beer (successful only for the novelty value), despite being an alcoholic (went into rehab shortly afterwards). And in general, he just acted like the stereotypical hick. He died of cancer in 1988. They say he was a good husband and father, and generally an okay person, just a loud, bumbling fool. Now, can someone tell me what Princess Margaret did that was so scandalous **apart from** having an affair with Peter Townsend? I know why that was a big deal, but was that it? ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/77 "2005-01-14T22:40:27Z")
Princes Margret had an affair with Pete Townsend??? Are you pulling my leg ? Since when? Wow ! I can just imagine them together - stuffing a Gibson into a Marshal stack. Consider me gobsmacked ! Do you think she had “always been a huge fan”? Sin ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/78 "2005-01-14T23:03:56Z")
Assuming I’m not the one being whooshed here, I meant Group Captain Peter Townsend, head of Buckingham Palace security. They were busted when she was seen picking lint off his uniform, an act she wouldn’t have performed unless they were **very** familiar. They were in love, or thought they were, but the idea of marriage was struck down absolutely. Don’t know what happened to him after that. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/79 "2005-01-14T23:27:00Z")
Anyway, what I’m asking is, what **else** did she do that was seen as scandalous? I can understand why the Townsend affair was seen as a scandal when it happened, but it doesn’t sound as if it were morally wrong. Is it to be held against her even today, and after her death? Other than that, was she known for outrageous statements and actions? (What I also know is that she liked to hang out with the Beatles, although her enthusiasm waned after they began smoking pot. In 1968, Pattie Harrison was busted for possession. Shortly afterwards, George encountered Margaret at a club and asked if she could “use her influence” to help. “Oh, dear, no, I don’t think so!” she replied. And that was the end of her association with them.) ---
**Author:** ![sinical\_brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@sinical\_brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinical_brit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540/80 "2005-01-14T23:53:38Z")
What-a-mistake-a-to-make-a !!! Sorry Rilchiam - my bad. Thought it sounded odd . What a plum. Sin [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prince-harry-dresses-as-a-nazi-so-what/284540.md?page=5)