Prince Harry pictured in The Sun wearing
a Nazi uniform
LONDON, England -- Britain's Prince Harry was being encouraged to make a public apology and visit the Auschwitz death camp after he was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform at a party.
Politicians and Jewish groups reacted with outrage to the photograph, in which the 20-year-old royal was seen holding a cigarette and a drink and wearing a swastika armband.
The picture of the third in line to the throne in Nazi regalia was published on the front page of Thursday's Sun newspaper.
Clarence House, the office of Harry's father, Prince Charles, issued a statement late Wednesday night in which Harry apologized for any offence he may have caused.
But opposition Conservative leader Michael Howard said Harry -- the younger son of Charles and the late Princess Diana -- should apologize in person.
"I think a lot of people will be disappointed to see that photograph and it will cause a lot of offence," said Howard, who is Jewish.
"Prince Harry has apologized. I have no doubt that his father and his family will have a good deal to say to him in private. I think it might be appropriate for him to tell us himself just how contrite he now is," Howard told BBC radio.
"I think there are various ways in which that can be done. I don't think the precise form it takes matters, but I think it would be appropriate if we heard from him in person about how contrite he is."
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the largest international Jewish human rights groups, branded the act "shameful" and urged the prince to visit Auschwitz death camp to see the full horrors of the Nazi regime.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Los Angeles-based center, called on Harry to accompany his uncle, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, to the camp later this month to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the camp's liberation.
"This was a shameful act displaying insensitivity for the victims, not just for those soldiers of his own country who gave their lives to defeat Nazism, but to the victims of the Holocaust who were the principal victims of the Nazis," Hier said.
"We strongly urge Prince Harry to accompany the British delegation on January 27 to the Auschwitz death camp to commemorate 60 years since liberation. There he will see the results of the hated symbol he so foolishly and brazenly chose to wear."
The Nazis murdered 6 million Jews and millions of others including Poles, homosexuals, Soviet prisoners and Gypsies. Millions more were imprisoned or forced to work as slaves.
Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, is commemorating the 60th anniversary that day by inviting Nazi death camp survivors and British veterans who freed them to a reception at St. James's Palace.
She also will attend a Holocaust Memorial Day national commemoration at London's Westminster Hall with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
'Very sorry'
The Sun said Harry wore the desert uniform of Gen. Erwin Rommel's German Afrika Korps to a party in Wiltshire, west of London, on Saturday.
The photo shows him wearing a swastika armband and a badge of the German Wehrmacht, or defense force, on his collar.
In a statement, Harry said: "I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."
Home Secretary Charles Clarke told BBC radio the young royal had apologized and the matter should be left there.
And a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "Clearly an error was made, that has been recognized by Prince Harry and it's better that this matter is dealt with by (Buckingham) Palace."
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, a spokesman for the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, said: "The fact that the palace has issued an apology indicates that this was a mistake by the prince. But having being given, the apology should now be accepted."
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews echoed the words of Romain, saying: "The board is pleased that he's apologized for the incident."
But Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom was less sympathetic, saying the use of Nazi symbols was intolerable.
"I think anybody who tries to pass it off as bad taste must be made aware that this can encourage others to think that perhaps that period was not as bad as we teach the young generation in the free world," Reuters quoted Shalom as telling reporters.
Former royal press officer Dickie Arbiter urged Harry to apologize publicly on radio or television, telling the BBC: "It is just not good enough to behave like that. We all know history, and at 20 there is no excuse."
Labour backbencher and former armed forces minister Doug Henderson said the incident demonstrated that the prince was unfit to train as a British Army officer at Sandhurst.
"If it was anyone else the application wouldn't be considered. It should be withdrawn immediately," Henderson said.
"A quick way of nipping it in the bud is for Harry to make it clear he has withdrawn his application for Sandhurst," he told Sky TV.
Harry is due to begin training at the elite Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst later this year.
Andy Pike, from Unite Against Fascism, called for the prince to do more than apologize, and "distance" himself from the Nazis.
He said: "We don't think that (an apology) is enough. We would like to see Harry distance himself from Nazi ideas of white supremacy, anti-Semitism and racism because he is a very influential figure."
Greville Janner, a former Labour MP and one-time president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the prince's action was "totally wrong and totally inappropriate".
"Britain stood alone against the Nazis and to dress as a Nazi was just youthful stupidity," Janner said. "I think he should be disciplined. He should understand what he has done and why it is so offensive."
The Sun reported that Harry was among 250 guests at the party for friend Harry Meade's 22nd birthday.
Harry's older brother, Prince William, also was said to have attended, dressed in a homemade lion and leopard outfit to fit the theme of Native and Colonial.
But the paper said it was Harry's outfit of beige shirt and trousers and Nazi insignia which was the talk of party guests.
The Sun quoted one shocked reveler as saying: "What on earth was Harry thinking of? A senior royal dressing up as a Nazi for a laugh? If that is his idea of a joke it was down like a lead balloon with many.
"There are a lot of old soldiers out there who will look at these photos of Harry dressed like this and be totally outraged. The Nazis were responsible for the deaths of millions. To turn that into a jokey idea for a fancy dress is an absolute disgrace."
