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Prince Harry is young and inexperience, he's done a very stupid thing. Now that he has apologized, move on. I would imagine that it isn't easy living you life under public scrutiny. His own mother suffered terribly because of all the pressure.
 
Some choice quotes from Prince Philip:

"Do you still throw spears at each other?"
(on meeting Aborigines in Australia)

"If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
(as spoken at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting)

"How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them to pass test?"
(Asking a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland)

"Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are
complaining they are unemployed."
(comment made during a particularly bad recession in Britain in 1981)

"We don't come here [Canada] for our health. We can think of other ways of enjoying ourselves."
(on ambassadorial trip to Canada)

"If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?"
(in response to to the 1996 Dunblane shootings. Insightful.)

"It looks as if it was put in by an Indian"
(upon noticing a ramshackle fusebox whilst taking a tour of a factory near Edinburgh)

"If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed"
(to some British students in China)

" Deaf? If you live near this, no wonder you are deaf "
(After being greeted by a steel band during a visit to a school for young deaf people. Charming.)

"Well, you'll never fly in it, you're too fat to be an astronaut."
(to a small child when inspecting the NOVA spacecraft in Salford)

Seems so obvious where Harry gets it from now, they probably came up with the idea together.
 
munkle said:
Some choice quotes from Prince Philip:
Although these are terrible, there is more understanding to his views. He is a very old man, and of a very different generation, this is only made worse my the fact he is a Royal and is so even more old fashioned about things than others of his age (IMO). Yes, he shouldn't say the things he does, but in his day there wouldn't have been a problem. This is Harry's time, and he should know what you can and can't do.

That said, I do think this is being blown out of all proportion now, it's happened, it was very stupid. Forget about it and hope he has learnt from this.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I'm a huge WWII buff, but even in historical circles the Swastika is generally considered to be an item that should not be visible outside an educational context. In fact, even the guys that do WWII re-enactments are very careful about removing such insignia when they are not actually "on the field".

the Swastika was and is the standard of the Nazis and their ideological descendants, and has come to represent evil and hate to our society. It is extremely offensive, and I can hardly over-emphasize that.

So, Harry's costume was a dumb idea, and hopefully nothing more than that. Hopefully this scandal doesn't cause too much permanent damage to his public image

I have an uncle who's very much into WWII history and memorabilia. He is also into the old-style G.I. Joe figures. (I call them dolls.) Some of these dolls are German soldiers, with the full uniform. He goes to the conventions and all that, and his interest is purely in the military history. He admires the fighting spirit of both sides and likes re-enacting the battles, that kind of thing. For authenticity's sake, that means some of the dolls' uniforms have swastikas on them.

One time I was house-sitting for the family and saw one of these German soldier dolls in my cousin's (his son's) room. My cousin is 13 years old and he likes the WWII stuff too. This particular doll had a Nazi flag, about 4" x 3" in size. I could not get my head around the idea that he had a Nazi flag in his room, even if it was in the context of this little wargames hobby. I tore the flag up and threw it away. My uncle is not an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier or admiring of Nazi policies in any way. But he is somewhat stubborn and ignorant of other people's feelings. It's one thing to have a little swastika on the sleeve of one doll among a whole shelf-ful of other figures. But a flag that big in plain sight of anyone who might visit? My concern was that he was being too nonchalant -- and by extension, my cousin too -- about a symbol that represents hatred and suffering for many people.

Later I wondered if I should have confronted him about it instead of just throwing the little flag away. My gut feeling is that he was so casual about it that he probably didn't notice its absence. I've resolved to speak to him about it personally if I noticed something like that happening again, but the whole thing still kind of unsettles me.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
THAT made me laugh. :)

Could somebody fill this Yank in on what general public opinion of the Princes in the UK is nowadays? My knowlege on the current state of the monarchy is shaky.

Prince Phillip. Senile, doddering old fool. See posts above. Insensitive, out of touch, arrogant, rude, obnoxious. Racist bigot.
Prince Charles. Out-of-touch (he likes hunting with hounds (foxes, deer and the like), this is set to be banned shortly, most people disapprove of the practice). Made stupid comments about how wrong it was for common folk to want to make something out of their lives (getting ideas above their station). Talks to plants. Has hideous taste in women (Camilla Parker-Bowles). There have been newspaper articles in the past about how he should renounce his claim to the throne and pass it straight to William, his eldest son. Not terribly intelligent. Does some good work (Prince's Trust and so on), but he should stay out of politics and try and act more regal.
Prince William. I'd say he's probably fairly popular. He doesn't do much, really, least of all anything that's offensive. He's thought of as a bit of a heart throb (as a heterosexual male, I don't see it myself, but anyway). He reminds me a lot of his late mum, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry = the English version of Paris Hilton. Gets in fights with photographers. Insensitive, dresses up with Nazi regalia. Likes his alcohol. He strikes me as being quite dumb. His stock is very, very, very low at present. To me, he is the Royal Family in microcosm: past their sell by date, in need of retirement (or a mercy killing). He would probably have turned out much better if his mum was still alive. (His mum was probably the most popular Royal of them all.)
Prince Andrew. Was in the Navy, I think. Not sure what he does nowadays. He likes his taxpayer-funded trips abroad. If he vanished off the face of the earth, no-one would miss him (possibly his kids might, but that's two people out of around 9 billion or so).
Prince Edward. Utterly hopeless. Probably the least beloved of the Queen's children (the others (that I can remember) being Charles, Andrew and Anne). Ran a TV production company with no success at all. Doesn't do anything worthwhile, a waste of space.
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. I'd say she has a pretty good reputation (relatively speaking). She does a fair bit for charity. She's a bit horsey, a trait shared by her daughter, Zara Phillips.
Princess Margaret (deceased), sister of Queen Elizabeth II. Battle axe. Admired by few, missed by even fewer. Liked her alcohol. Held dubious views (a product of her time?). Newspaper articles in the wake of her death were not terribly complementary (at least the ones I read).

There are lots of other Royals as well, but no-one really cares about them. They are hardly worth writing about. So I won't.
 
VincentVega said:
Prince Phillip. Senile, doddering old fool. See posts above. Insensitive, out of touch, arrogant, rude, obnoxious. Racist bigot.
Prince Charles. Out-of-touch (he likes hunting with hounds (foxes, deer and the like), this is set to be banned shortly, most people disapprove of the practice). Made stupid comments about how wrong it was for common folk to want to make something out of their lives (getting ideas above their station). Talks to plants. Has hideous taste in women (Camilla Parker-Bowles). There have been newspaper articles in the past about how he should renounce his claim to the throne and pass it straight to William, his eldest son. Not terribly intelligent. Does some good work (Prince's Trust and so on), but he should stay out of politics and try and act more regal.
Prince William. I'd say he's probably fairly popular. He doesn't do much, really, least of all anything that's offensive. He's thought of as a bit of a heart throb (as a heterosexual male, I don't see it myself, but anyway). He reminds me a lot of his late mum, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry = the English version of Paris Hilton. Gets in fights with photographers. Insensitive, dresses up with Nazi regalia. Likes his alcohol. He strikes me as being quite dumb. His stock is very, very, very low at present. To me, he is the Royal Family in microcosm: past their sell by date, in need of retirement (or a mercy killing). He would probably have turned out much better if his mum was still alive. (His mum was probably the most popular Royal of them all.)
Prince Andrew. Was in the Navy, I think. Not sure what he does nowadays. He likes his taxpayer-funded trips abroad. If he vanished off the face of the earth, no-one would miss him (possibly his kids might, but that's two people out of around 9 billion or so).
Prince Edward. Utterly hopeless. Probably the least beloved of the Queen's children (the others (that I can remember) being Charles, Andrew and Anne). Ran a TV production company with no success at all. Doesn't do anything worthwhile, a waste of space.
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. I'd say she has a pretty good reputation (relatively speaking). She does a fair bit for charity. She's a bit horsey, a trait shared by her daughter, Zara Phillips.
Princess Margaret (deceased), sister of Queen Elizabeth II. Battle axe. Admired by few, missed by even fewer. Liked her alcohol. Held dubious views (a product of her time?). Newspaper articles in the wake of her death were not terribly complementary (at least the ones I read).

There are lots of other Royals as well, but no-one really cares about them. They are hardly worth writing about. So I won't.


Dont hold back, say what you think!
 
snkTab said:
how is a white shirt with a armband a uniform.

It's more than just a shirt with an armband, there are other insignia sewn on. It's fairly obviously an attempt to approximate a Wermacht uniform. And that isn't just an armband, as I have explained at some length above .

Prince philip - Daaaayyyum, I can't believe he said all that! Like edesign said he IS from a different generation (although as a high profile figure he should be held to a high standard of behavior). Prince Harry should know better, but I fear that this scandal is going to be trotted out every time he commits another faux pas for the rest of his life, which is unfortunate.

aloofman:

Being too young to have seen WWII in person, I don't have the physical reaction that many of the older generations do to Nazi imagery. Perhaps it's because I've always been fascinated with history and WWII and have come to understand the events better without experiencing them, and the study of history can dull the drama or humanity of events. People fear less what they think they know well. Still, I don't think that the Swastika should ever be displayed or treated in a casual manner (as it often is these days), and one should always be sensitive to the millions of people alive today who WERE there.

By the same token, one should be careful to distinguish between carelessness/thoughtlessness (i.e. the topic of this thread) and malicious intent (racism/neo-Nazism). One is bad, but the other is FAR worse.
 
iGAV said:
He doesn't have to be a part of it though if he doesn't like it, he could quite easily abdicate...

jesus, what a clever comment! ... No, he cant abdicate from his postition.. he's a prince. That title is given to him as a birth right - he cant escape it. As he has been apointed *no* position, just a title, he therefore can not abdicate from any role....
Yes, he could run away from his family and home.. but who really does that ? AND thats not abdication anyway

go and read a book, not The Sun.

Rob
 
VincentVega said:
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. I'd say she has a pretty good reputation (relatively speaking). She does a fair bit for charity. She's a bit horsey, a trait shared by her daughter, Zara Phillips.

Hilarious! :D

Princess Anne is also heavily involved with the Olympic movement and supports the Scottish rugby team... seems to be one of the few that actually does something useful.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
aloofman:

By the same token, one should be careful to distinguish between carelessness/thoughtlessness (i.e. the topic of this thread) and malicious intent (racism/neo-Nazism). One is bad, but the other is FAR worse.

I agree. And like I said, I know that it's more out of insensitivity than malice. I just fear that it will interpreted as meaning something more and would hate to see either of them judged on that.
 
VincentVega said:
Prince Harry = the English version of Paris Hilton.

Harry is definitely not as attractive as her. And even although Paris is far less offensive than him, I wish that someone would point out to her how moronic she looks with that perpetual silly smirk on her face.

Thanks for summing up the royal family for us. We appreciate your accurate descriptions and dry wit, although they - the royals - probably don't ;)
 
virividox said:
well he does have 'german lineage'

Not all germans were Nazis and not all Nazis were germans.

virividox said:
yes but normal ppl dont have the press on their backs 24/7 and as a future leader of the UK, at the very least a public figure he should use better judgment. sure you can argue that the nazis are so WWII and to get over it because he didnt mean anything and it was harmless fun blah blah blah, but for some ppl this remains a senstive issue, and he as a responsible public figure shouldnt be insentive to those people

This is a rather sensitive topic for me and a number of my friends. There are still neo-Nazis today and this can be interpreted by them as a symbol that their leader has hidden intentions... I've studied enough of these people to know that it could be taken that way.

wdlove said:
Prince Harry is young and inexperience, he's done a very stupid thing. Now that he has apologized, move on.

It shouldn't have happened in the first place. It really shouldn't have. This is not a very good thing to have happen for him, the royal family, and for Jews living in England. If taken the wrong way it could be bad. Taken on the light-er side, its just a stupid mistake that shouldn't have been made but was.

snkTab said:
how is a white shirt with a armband a uniform.
The symbol on the armband, they style of the clothing, and the position of the armband make it a uniform.
 
When a person apologizes we should be able to forgive. Being that he isn't an adult, he deserves a break. Like any other teenager it is tough to monitor them 24/7.
 
wdlove said:
When a person apologizes we should be able to forgive. Being that he isn't an adult, he deserves a break. Like any other teenager it is tough to monitor them 24/7.

isn't prince harry already 20 ? that's hardly teenager ;)
 
Rather off-topic( since most of my sentiments on the matter-at-hand have been mentioned), but I am again reminded of the brilliance of whomever designed the German/Nazi-era uniforms.

Without a doubt, they are the most attractive-looking uniforms ever worn by a country's military forces. Even the swastika was a stroke of design/marketing genius.

Sadly, this is all ruined by association with what the Nazis represented and perpetrated against their fellow humanity.

It is curious how sensitive we in the West are to the Nazis and Hitler, in the context of them/him being behind at least Stalin and Mao in number of people killed/crimes against humanity, and possibly behind Amin and Pol Pot as well. I suppose it is a reminder that the West is not immune from such desptic tendencies.

Sorry to ramble, just thinking out loud...
 
What if he went dressed as a Catholic Priest? See where I am going with this? The church has murdered more people than the Nazis, and not to mention the pedophiles. Oh, I hope that does not upset anybody, but I am not a prince with the media on my royal a$$, so it does not matter. :D
 
blackfox said:
Rather off-topic( since most of my sentiments on the matter-at-hand have been mentioned), but I am again reminded of the brilliance of whomever designed the German/Nazi-era uniforms.

Without a doubt, they are the most attractive-looking uniforms ever worn by a country's military forces. Even the swastika was a stroke of design/marketing genius.

Sadly, this is all ruined by association with what the Nazis represented and perpetrated against their fellow humanity.

It is curious how sensitive we in the West are to the Nazis and Hitler, in the context of them/him being behind at least Stalin and Mao in number of people killed/crimes against humanity, and possibly behind Amin and Pol Pot as well. I suppose it is a reminder that the West is not immune from such desptic tendencies.

Sorry to ramble, just thinking out loud...

i have to agree with you here, the WWII uniforms of the germans were REALLY good looking, sharp, clean lines, very professional looking and imposing.

i know when i visit re-enactments sometimes they dont weaer the nazi swastika, but aside form that the uniform is complete
 
wdlove said:
When a person apologizes we should be able to forgive.

Except that the 'apology' has come in the form of a printed statement from the press officer at Clarence House and there's no evidence that Harry wrote it or saw it before its release. People are asking for a public apology so they get some idea that Harry is genuinely sorry and understands the upset he caused.
 
Mr. Anderson said:
Ha! But his celebrity status will protect him from that, I'm sure.... :rolleyes:

Apology aside, I'd love to hear from him *how* he went about getting a Nazi uniform and deciding to wear it in the first place.

D

It's not difficult or illegal, what are you implying? I thought it would be obvious that a fancy dress would be an expression of wit, why would it become a personal affirmation of political ideology?

Are people actually concerned that because a public figure wears a Nazi uniform to make fun of his supposed family skeletons, the who country might turn into political undesirables?

otherwise what is the problem? Is it cover for the government to slip out some more "Bad News"? Is it distraction from the struggle between number 10 and 11?

VincentVega said:
There are lots of other Royals as well, but no-one really cares about them. They are hardly worth writing about. So I won't.

It's quite obvious you don't, thanks for your balanced opinion. :rolleyes:


VincentVega said:
As for Harry, I'd personally line him, blindfolded, up against the wall and show no sympathy at all. He's a complete idiot. Given that it's coming up to the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it's particularly insensitive timing. Harry seems to have inherited his father's lack of intelligence instead of his comedy ears.

Are you deliberately trying to show how disgusting you can be? Presumably this is humour? It's not like he has attended a dinner in remembrance of the liberation of Auschwitz is it? He was at a private party, and personally in that context I find in very amusing that someone frequently referred to as a Nazi (among other derogatory names) because of his accident of birth, can see beyond the self importance of accidental position.

You're out for one thing and that's blood. What would you say to his family after you had personally lined him up, blindfolded, against the wall and shown no sympathy at all? Would you pull the trigger or would you order someone else to do it?
 
20-20 HINDSIGHT

“It just reaffirms that he is as stupid as everyone else our age.”
Marguerite Metz, age 20, textile design student, from Cambridge
Healthy, happy Brits we all are!

The Times has a couple of interesting points, but nothing special. Of note, they mention that Michael Howard was (understandably) none too pleased.
 
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