Prince Harry called this one of the "biggest mistakes" of his life.
Nearly two decades after Prince Harry appeared at a 2005 costume party dressed in a Nazi soldier's uniform, the moment remains a topic of conversation.
"The Crown" re-created the moment for its final batch of episodes in December 2023, months after Harry himself wrote about it in his 2023 memoir "Spare," as well as in a 2022 Netflix docuseries.
As Harry wrote in his book, the scandal unfolded after he attended a party thrown by his older brother Prince William’s friend. The party had the "cringy" theme of “natives and colonials," Harry wrote in "Spare."
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The next day, photos of Harry, who is a son of the now-King Charles and late Princess Diana, dressed as in a Nazi Afrika Korps uniform appeared on the front page of tabloids. In the aftermath, some called for Harry to be disqualified from joining the Army, though he later did serve, while many criticized him for minimizing the Holocaust.
Here's what Harry has said since about the scandal, and how it lives on in pop culture.
What Harry has said about the Nazi uniform scandal
Entertainment News
Harry first issued a statement in the wake of the scandal in 2005, writing, “I am very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize.”
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, a spokesman for the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain, responded amid uproar, writing in a statement obtained by The Associated Press, “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.”
Then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration declined to weigh in. “Clearly an error was made,” Blair’s official spokesman said, per the New York Times. “That has been recognized by Harry, and I think it is better that this matter continues to be dealt with by (Buckingham) Palace.”
Since 2005, Harry has become more verbose about what compelled him to pick up that costume, and dealing with the ramifications of guilt, shame and "a bottomless self-loathing."
In "Spare," Harry called the media swelling a "firestorm ... which I thought at times would engulf me. And I felt that I deserved to be engulfed."
He continued, "There were moments over the course of the next several weeks and months when I thought I might die of shame."
Harry wrote that he "wasn't thinking" when he chose to dress up as a Nazi.
"When I saw those photos, I recognized immediately that my brain had been shut off, that perhaps it had been shut off for some time," he said.
William was "sympathetic" in the aftermath, Harry wrote. His father was "serene" and spoke to him with "tenderness" and "genuine compassion," thinking of his own "youthful humiliations."
Charles had the idea to send him to speak to the chief rabbi of Britain. The rabbi, Harry wrote, offered him forgiveness. "He assured me that people do stupid things, say stupid things, but it doesn't need to be their intrinsic nature. I was showing my true nature, he said, by seeking to atone. Seeking absolution," he wrote.
Harry said it was an example of ‘unconscious bias’
Prior to "Spare," Prince Harry spoke to the scandal in detail in the 2022 documentary “Harry & Meghan.”
“It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Harry said. “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right. I sat down and spoke to the chief rabbi in London, which had a profound effect on me. I went to Berlin and spoke to a Holocaust survivor. I could have just ignored it and made the same mistakes over again in my life. But I learned from that.”
Harry connected the costume to the idea of “unconscious bias” and how it exists in his family.
“In this family, sometimes you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution,” he said.
“There is a huge level of unconscious bias. It’s actually no one’s fault, but once it’s been pointed out or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right. It’s education, it’s awareness. And it’s a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.”
How the party is depicted in ‘The Crown’ vs. what Harry has said
The scene unfolds in the series finale of “The Crown.” Before the party, Will, Kate Middleton and Harry take a group outing, along with other friends, to a costume shop in the Cotswolds, England.
In the show, Harry tries on his costume in front of Will and Kate.
“Germany had an empire, didn’t they? What about this?” Harry says, trying on the jacket.
“I don’t know. Maybe cover up the swastika?” Kate says.
Will defends his brother, saying, “Oh, come on. Wearing the outfit doesn’t make him a Nazi.”
He appears at the party in a jacket. When he takes if off to reveal the armband, two enterprising partygoers snap a photo and sell it to the tabloids.
Harry's recounting in his memoir detailed the process a little bit differently. He said he ran the idea by William and Kate — though instead of expressing skepticism, they encouraged him.
Harry wrote that he went to a “well-known costume shop” in Nailsworth. He narrowed his options into two: a British pilot’s uniform and “a sand-colored Nazi uniform with a swastika armband.”
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said. I rented it, plus a silly mustache, and went back to the house. I tried it all on. They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous!”
Harry wrote that seeming ridiculous “was the point.”
He wrote that “no one took any notice” of him at the party, but that someone “snapped photos” and “saw a chance to make some cash, or some trouble.”
NBC News reached out to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace (which represent Prince William, Princess Catherine and King Charles) when "Spare" was published. Representatives from the palaces declined to comment on the allegations made in the book.
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