Prince Harry used the third episode of the Harry & Meghan documentary series to address the 2005 incident in which he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party, calling the incident “one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”
“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,” Harry said.
He added that he subsequently met with the UK’s Chief Rabbi at the time, Rabbi Lord Sacks, to speak about what he had done and to “learn” from his error.
“We 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,” he said on the Netflix show. “I could’ve just ignored it and probably made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that.”
The 20-year old prince was photographed at the party wearing the costume, which included a swastika, while holding a drink and a cigarette.
The incident was widely condemned and sparked outrage from the Board of Deputies, who denounced the prince’s “ill-judged actions.”
Harry later issued an apology, stating he was “very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone” and saying, “It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize.”