Posted on 01/13/2005 5:54:13 PM PST by veronica
Prince Harry’s Nazi outfit would not have been tolerated in the Army and he would have been punished for his actions, a former British commander said today.
Colonel Bob Stewart said he would have given the 20-year-old prince, who will join the forces later this year, two weeks’ worth of extra duties for being pictured dressed up in a fascist uniform, complete with swastika armband.
The army hero, who led British UN troops in Bosnia, branded the antics “bad taste”, saying they had caused offence to many people.
Harry is set to attend the prestigious Sandhurst military academy for officer training.
Col Stewart, who is now retired from the forces, said: “If I had an officer who went to a party dressed as a Nazi I would have dragged him in front of me and as his commanding officer would have given him a punishment of 14 days extra duties.
“Other people have different views but it’s bad taste. You don’t want your officers seen like that.
“It’s likely he would have been punished for bringing the Officer Corps into disrepute.”
He added: “Prince Harry must be an enormous idiot with minimum common sense. He’s made a grave mistake.”
Col Stewart, who trained at Sandhurst, said: “He’s made a serious error but it’s not an error that should stop him entering officer training.”
He added: “The army helps take arrogance away.”
Harry's father should have a tutor teach the foolish young man about the war. He should watch videos, read books and then spend a few years doing community service for a Jewish Center.
Then we'll see if he thinks what he did was funny.
Give the kid a break. I wouldn't do what he did at my age but at his I wouldn't have given it a second thought. That's how we learn and grow. It isn't always pretty or easy or fun...but Jesus, don't expect children to be world seasoned diplomats when they're just trying to have honest fun...or impress the girls.
I heard he was at a party where everyone was suppose to dress up in costumes that are in "poor taste".
Seems the boy was the winner of the contest.
Given the behaviour of Prince Charles and many other "royals", "idiocy" seems to be genetic amongst them.
Has it been published anywhere that guests were to dress up in costumes in poor taste?
All the Charisma of Charles and the intellect of Diana.
A little dummy. I hope he learns. Maybe Sandhurst can knock it into him.
Of all the skeletons in all the closets of Windsor Castle, it's hard to imagine a more stunning reference and hard to believe it wasn't deliberate.
Similar behavior could be seen this past summer by elitest rich kids who were protesting against Bush. They have trust funds, a good deal of free time; and are looking for attention from their parents who have no time for them.
John Kerry was once just like Harry and the royal ilk. As shown by his actions after returning from Vietnam.
They claim to be working for the poor unwashed....but behind closed doors their true colors are shown.
The kid is 20 years old ... give him a break. He was born in 1985, granted, in a perfect world he would be a tad more sensitive to older generations. However, his mother was, to say the least, flighty ... his dad, a pompous ass ... both of liberal persuasion ... what do you expect?
It was an incredibly stupid thing to do. But people do stupid things sometimes and as long as they're willing to ackowledge said stupidity and apologize, I think we can give them a break. Even given that he's said some other really stupid things in the past as well.
i agree (and I'm a Jew) - he's but a kid trying to get attention. he will learn from this because he's going to suffer consequences. i say, send him on a trip to the concentration camps and expose him to the reality that that swastika left in its wake. if he has a heart and a conscience, he will see the light and make a true heartfelt apology.
I got this from here.
The Hitler costume wasnt so bad, Just think of the uproar if he had gone in Blackface.
At a Colonial-Native theme party, that'd be the "native" side of the coin.
I agree with your post. It would be the only thing that would be appropriate. This idiot has NO clue of what he did nor why it was awful. If it had been a satire, like Charlie Chaplin, that's one thing, but this? this is beyond a "costume in poor taste". I just have tried to imagine anyone who truly understands what the swaztika represented to put that on without feeling so weird and uncomfortable.
What is scairy is that now in Europe there is much anti semitism...so just how silly was this prank? I do think the one redeeming possibility is that Harry is one very angry young kid and this is one way to stick it to the royalty that he may have felt gave his mom a hard way to go.
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