It was, he admits, one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ of his life.
Now Harry’s embarrassment over wearing a Nazi uniform to a party has been gleefully recreated by Netflix in the very last episode of The Crown.
But in this case, the prince’s closeness to the streaming service appears to have paid off. Harry, who has a reported £80million production deal with Netflix, has notably shied away from criticising the series’ increasingly cartoonish plotlines.
The on-screen portrayal of his Nazi debacle appears to stay close to his own recollection of the incident in his memoir, Spare.
In the book, Harry took little in the way of responsibility for his actions, effectively blaming Prince William and his then-girlfriend Kate, for egging him on.
The Crown has the trio – played by Ed McVey, Luther Ford and Meg Bellamy – at a costume shop in the Cotswolds, planning for the ‘natives and colonials’ themed party.
Harry’s embarrassment over wearing a Nazi uniform to a party has been gleefully recreated by Netflix in the very last episode of The Crown
The Crown has the trio – played by Ed McVey, Luther Ford and Meg Bellamy – at a costume shop in the Cotswolds, planning for the ‘natives and colonials’ themed party
While William is going as a lion, his younger brother is undecided on what to do until coming across a uniform of the Afrika Korps – Rommel’s troops in North Africa – complete with swastika armband
While William is going as a lion, his younger brother is undecided on what to do until coming across a uniform of the Afrika Korps – Rommel’s troops in North Africa – complete with swastika armband.
‘Germany had an empire, didn’t they?’ he asks in the scene. ‘What about this?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Kate replies. ‘Maybe cover the swastika?’ But William comes to his brother’s defence.
‘Oh, come on. Wearing the outfit doesn’t make him a Nazi. Isn’t that the joke?’ he adds. In the mirror, a gleeful Harry, then aged 20, does the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute as he makes his choice.
At the party, hosted by Olympic showjumper Richard Meade, Harry is photographed by two shocked guests who sell the pictures to The Sun.
The Royal Family are then shown examining the front pages in horror, while the young prince shouts obscenities as he realises his mistake.
In a later scene, the two brothers row over the scandal at supper with their father.
‘You were all for the uniform, egging me on,’ Harry hit out. ‘Suddenly you’re Mr Morality. Stabbing me in the back… how many faces does this man have?’
In a later scene, the two brothers row over the scandal at supper with their father
At the party, hosted by Olympic showjumper Richard Meade, Harry is photographed by two shocked guests who sell the pictures to The Sun
The Royal Family are then shown examining the front pages in horror, while the young prince shouts obscenities as he realises his mistake
William then says: ‘I’m not sure I like who you’re turning into.’
‘Not sure I like who you’ve been,’ Harry angrily replies.
In Spare, there is no suggestion that William and Kate were ever at the fancy dress shop at the same time. But Harry does very much paint himself as a victim, claiming the pair promised to help him find a suitable outfit.
The prince says he called them to discuss his options, explaining it was a toss-up between the uniform of an RAF pilot or a Nazi.
He wrote: ‘I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said.’
He describes taking it home and trying it on for them – adding a ‘proper Hitler’ moustache – and ‘they both howled’.
He said William was ‘sympathetic’ at the resulting furore but ‘there wasn’t much to say’. His father was surprisingly understanding, but a public apology was deemed necessary.
The Crown’s award-winning writer, Peter Morgan, has insisted he hasn’t read ‘a word’ of Spare, adding: ‘I didn’t want his voice to inhabit my thinking too much. I’ve got a lot of sympathy with him… but I didn’t want to read his book.’