Posted on 01/14/2005 11:11:56 AM PST by jb6
LONDON (AFP) - Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, rejected demands he make further apologies for having dressed as a Nazi at a costume party, after photographs of him sparked an international outcry.
AFP/Getty Images Photo
AFP Slideshow: Prince Harry's Nazi Costume Criticized
Michael Howard, leader of Britain's main opposition Conservative Party, was among several prominent people at home and abroad to demand that Harry go beyond his written statement and appear in person to apologize for the costume.
A royal family spokesman said "nothing more is needed" from the 20-year-old as his aunt Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, urged the media to back off in its criticism.
"We feel that Harry gave a full and public apology Wednesday as soon as it became clear that the photos could cause pain to people," said a spokesman for Clarence House, the office of Harry's father Prince Charles.
When Thursday's edition of The Sun newspaper hit the newsstands late Wednesday with a front-page photograph of Harry in a Nazi costume, Clarence House released a written statement of apology attributed to Harry.
"I am sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone," said Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. "It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise."
The Sun said Prince Charles was also angry at his elder son William because he was with Harry when he chose the costume.
But Clarence House called "inaccurate" reports in Friday's edition of The Sun that Prince Charles ordered Harry and his brother William to make a private visit with Jewish charities to the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz in Poland.
"That's not something that we're looking at at the moment," the spokesman said.
The royal family said Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites)'s youngest son and seventh in line to the throne, would attend the Auschwitz ceremony, as had been planned before the furore erupted.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw would now attend the ceremony, upgrading the delegation previously led by minister of state for Europe, Denis MacShane, but the Foreign Office said the decision was "not in response to Prince Harry."
Clarence House said it was nonetheless looking at various invitations from Jewish and non-Jewish groups "to effectively do some sort of ... engagement in the future, or some education in the future" involving Harry.
A source close to the royal family also told AFP that the Jewish and non-Jewish groups which have been in contact with the royal family had not demanded that Harry make a public appearance to apologize.
Conservative leader Michael Howard, who is Jewish and had family members perish at Auschwitz, told BBC radio on Thursday that "I think it might be appropriate for him to tell us himself just how contrite he now is."
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, said Harry ought to go to Auschwitz for the 60th anniversary commemorations later this month.
In a poll by Totallyjewish.com, 84 percent of respondents in Britain said Harry should be sent on an educational trip to Auschwitz.
The furore showed little sign of abating as it drew protests from Jewish groups and politicians in Europe and Israel, as well as a roasting from the British and international media.
The press in Germany, where it is illegal to wear Nazi insignia, was stunned by the photographs.
Die Welt said "this is a scandal, not a slip by an insensitive prince who, as is well-known, is not exactly regarded as an intellectual giant of his generation."
The mass market Bild newspaper wondered what his late mother, Princess Diana, would have made of her youngest son's behaviour.
The Duchess of York was a virtual lone voice in defending Harry.
"I want someone to stand up for him and say he is a very good man, and I'm that person," Ferguson told BBC Radio.
By that same logic had he dressed up as the devil he owes the whole christian world an apology!
Heck, one of the most popular halloween masks last year was of Saddam Hussein. Go figure........Talk about a slow news day in Britain
What amazes me is that his handlers let him do this.
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