It is exactly 20 years ago since Prince Harry caused outrage after wearing a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party – and he later admitted the incident was one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ of his life

Prince Harry once revealed one of the “biggest mistakes” of his life – and admitted it left him “so ashamed”.

Exactly 20 years ago the Duke of Sussex caused outrage when it emerged he wore a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party. The incident came in 2005 when Harry was 20 and he was invited to the costume bash and wore the soldier’s uniform that had a swastika. He was pictured in the costume while holding a drink and a cigarette.

At the time, his father King Charles’ official office Clarence House was forced to issue a statement, saying Harry had apologised for any offence or embarrassment caused.

Harry talked about feeling ashamed after wearing a Nazi uniform in his Netflix series ( 
Image:
Netflix)

But in his explosive tell-all Netflix series with wife Meghan Markle, Harry addressed the controversy for the first time. He admitted: “It was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right.” He also revealed he spoke to the chief rabbi as well as met a Holocaust survivor because he wanted to make it right and learn from it.

He continued: “All I wanted to do was make it right. I sat down and spoke to the Chief Rabbi in London, which had a profound impact on me. I went to Berlin and spoke to a Holocaust survivor. I could have just ignored it and gone on and made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that.”

In the same episode, the Duke of Sussex also addressed the idea of “unconscious bias” in his family, noting that while “it’s actually no one’s fault,” that doesn’t absolve one of responsibility. “Once it’s been pointed out or identified within yourself you then need to make it right,” he said. “It’s education, it’s awareness and it’s a constant work in progress for everyone ― including me.”

Immediately after the 2005 incident, Harry apologised in a statement, saying, “I am very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologise.” The regretful prince added in a later interview: “Maybe it was a sign of my own immaturity. Something like that I will never do again. It was a stupid thing to do.”

Meanwhile, the Board of Deputies of British Jews said at the time that it was “pleased that [Harry has] apologised for … his ill-judged actions.”

“We would now want to concentrate on ensuring that everyone understands the evils and enormity of the Holocaust, and the resonance of the swastika, not only to the Jewish community, but to all in the United Kingdom affected by the Second World War against the Nazis,” the group added.