Should Prince Harry apologise?

[DillyDally]

or not? Discuss

Makes you wonder if they ever went to school? Or perhaps they don't teach it at school? It is surprising - 50% is a huge figure.

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I'm bloody sure harry knows exactly what Auschwitz is though, even if many of the general public don't. Why on earth aren't useful and important things taught in schools for god's sake?

If I thought he was wearing his costume satirically, I might feel slightly differently. But as the theme of the party was "Colonials and Natives" which is clearly racist, that other guests thought it was funny to black up their faces, then I'm afraid I think it is more likely that he though a Nazi uniform would be pretty damn sexy. 20 is NOT that young. He is third in line to be our head of state. If he's truly that ignorant about history, then I think it is a perfect reason to abolish the whole idea of the monarchy. The whole family is tainted by far-right ideas anyway. Prince Phillip's sisters were, apparently, all married to high ups in the Nazi party. Edward VIII was a Nazi sympathiser etc. With that family background, you'd think anyone with any sensitivity at all would recoil from the swastika, not embrace it.

I wasn't taught about the holocaust in school either. Jethro Tull and the internal combustion engine, yes, holocaust, no. But I knew about it anyway - I'd always assumed it was basic general knowledge.

I'll make damn sure my kids know how unacceptable this is. And why.

IMO he has no right to be a silly little boy any more. He is 20 years old and 3rd in line to the throne. A lot of people may be unaware of Auschwitz but he has a responsibility to educate himself about such things. As aloha pointed out, the choice of uniform for a 'colonials' party implies a lot of thought, so I doubt he is as ignorant as all that. Maybe, like his grandfather, he just doesn't care.

I think if we shrug off this kind of thing we send all the wrong messages to the increasing ranks of neo-Nazis out there.

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I did hardly any history at school either and never learned anything useful. However, the holocaust is hardly ancient history and is crucial general knowledge - for someone who is 3rd in line to the throne, at the very least.

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I would be interested to know if WW2 is covered by the national curriculum. Certainly there should be discussion in schools about things like racism and anti-semitism, even if it's not covered by the history curriculum. I appreciate that not all families discuss that sort of thing with their kids, but it's certainly something I've talked about on many occasions with my children.

Yes secur - the general public can probably blame the system for not educating them properly and that's something that definitely needs addressing. But given who he and his family are, there is no excuse. And the same goes for the people who held the party and were guests there. The whole concept was inherently racist.

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its not round here, SD, they teach ww1 and the russian revolution (!) or they did til recently as far as i know. i learnt all about ww2 and associated facts from the newspapers tbh. my dad worked for a paper and it was common in our house to read them cover to cover every day

I think it is safe to say that a member of the royal family, who went to Eton, has been told about WW2. What he remembered, of course, is more open to debate.

It really makes me despair. If we must insist on having compulsory education in this country, ffs let's teach them something useful and important. I would've appreciated being taught first aid at school, and how to drive, and how to put a shelf up. And surely schoolchildren should be taught how historical events are relevant to what is happening in the present? I can't think of any time in my life when knowing how to solve a quadratic equation has come in remotely useful.

Don't know whether it's in the curriculum but guess it must be covered at ds's school somewhere (we covered the holocaust as part of our RE CSE. I was quite schocked to read an article written by a group of pupils for his annual "school rag" which was basically a tale of how the Nazis were about to invade The UK again and how we needed to make a stand against the Germans. Written by a group of year 11 pupils but in pretty poor taste I think. Nearly complained but then couldn't be bothered.

agree, even general knowledge would tell you this is offensive
if you know enough to recognise a Nazi swastika you know it is not badge of honour
and forgive my ignorance but I cannot see how Nazism fits in with colonial/natives theme

Apalled by such disgusting behaviour but like others I am not surprised. As others have said I would be ashamed of my children if they did this. On this occassion I do think his behaviour is of public interest.

even ifit's not covered in the curriculum I though at the age of 20 one would have discovered the 'Discovery Channel' which on a regular basis covers WWII et al.

I'm from Germany and we get the 3rd Reich, Nazism and all rammed down our throats in history from quite early on. Least we forget...

oh and just have to get this in... so many people 'suffer' from the mis-conception that Hitler was German... he actually was Austrian!

[shutting up now]

Wasn't he also a vegetarian or is that an urban myth?

He was, and I think he was also quite kind to animals.

That's interesting MrsBigD, I've often wondered how the subject is tackled in german schools