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He's taking accountability.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 08, 2022
Prince Harry is taking accountability and apologizing for his past mishaps.
The Duke of Sussex candidly spoke about wearing a controversial outfit to a 2005 costume party in the new Netflix limited docuseries "Harry and Meghan."
Prince Harry admitted that wearing a Nazi costume was his "biggest mistake."
During the third episode of the series, Prince Harry expressed deep remorse for his actions.
"It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I felt so ashamed afterwards,” he said.
In 2005, Harry, who was 20, arrived at a party in London of over 250 guests, dressed as a Nazi soldier with a red armband that included a swastika printed on the fabric.
Talking about the aftermath, which featured him wearing the costume on the front page of several publications, Prince Harry pointed out, "All I wanted to do was make it right."
In the wake of the controversy, Harry was reportedly ordered by his father, Charles, to complete a myriad of things to right his wrongs, including visiting Poland’s infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz and watching ‘Schindler’s List.'
In the Netflix series, Harry revealed that he'd also spoken with the Chief Rabbi in London, which he says had a “profound impact” on him, along with going to Berlin to speak with a Holocaust survivor.
“I could’ve just ignored it and probably made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that” he remarked.
Harry also seemed to hint at some of the problems within his family, especially when it comes to them acknowledging their own deep-rooted issues.
"In this family, sometimes, you know, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution. And there is a huge level of unconscious bias."
He continued, “The thing with unconscious bias is 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.”
Prince Harry was previously accused of using a racial slur.
A year after Harry was criticized for wearing a Nazi costume, the Duke of Sussex was filmed saying a racial slur.
The footage, which was filmed in 2006 but later released to the public in 2009, showed a 21-year-old Harry as an officer cadet during a military exercise in Cyprus.
At one point in the video, Harry used a racial slur to describe his friend, which is mainly used by white British people to discriminate against people of Pakistani descent.
Harry was also heard using another slur, "raghead," which is army slang for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
Following the release of the video, St. James Palace issued an apology on behalf of Harry, according to the Guardian.
"Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause," the statement read.
"However, on this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.