Smash hit

Harry is 20 and a royal and there is no excuse for his arrogance and insensitivity. So his brother and their minders did not see anything wrong in 2005 in going to a party with “natives and colonials” - what planet do they live on? I was disappointed by your attempt to play this down. Kaima Mapfumo, Carmarthen

There are nightclub events where Germans dress up as former communist border guards. It's part of nostalgia for the good old days, all good fun. Yet a schoolboy wearing a copy of a communist youth movement shirt to class is banned. Germany can be just as hypocritical as Britain. Harry can be forgiven as seeing the war as so far removed from his generation as to mean very little. Since the end of the Cold War the British have lost someone to hate, so its back to the only war they know and love. Martin Welbeck, Berlin

The British are the only people who could ever laugh at the Nazis, and may it long continue. Charlie Chaplin, Allo Allo, Fredddie Starr, Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers and so on, in no way sought to minimise the brutality of the regime. To submit to today's hypersensitivity over any matter that may or may not constitute “offensiveness” would leave us with nothing to say. Matthew Illsley, Mansfield

This news has been received with the usual laughter in Spain; the British royal family never cease to amaze the Spanish. You wouldn't get the Spanish royals, however minor, dressing up as Franco. Jayne Cleveley, Madrid

Perhaps I can understand the British outrage. It's a bit as if I, a German, wore a hammer and sickle. But, and here is where I don't follow you Brits, we lost to the hammer and sickle, but you chaps defeated the thing Prince Harry wore on his armband. I can't even get myself to write the word, so ashamed am I to have my good German name stained by the memory of the crimes committed in its shadow. If I wore the enemy insignia, I would be wallowing in the mire of my own shame. Prince Harry, great-grandson of the winning King George VI, is entitled to a bit of fun at our expense. There is no exaltation of the hated crooks who had taken over my nation, as there would be if a German would wear it, which is why our government has wisely outlawed its use. Hermann G. W. Burchard, Stillwater, Oklahoma (formerly of Hamburg, Germany)

It was wrong, but we all make mistakes. I’m a Rangers fan who has shouted wrong expressions (part time bigot, according to the Scottish executive) at Celtic fans, some who are friends, but now is the time to move on. If Harry gets the chance to go to Auschwitz, he should. I would love to go, and take my 14-year-old daughter, as knowledge is everything, but common sense also helps. James McGee, Glasgow

Who says that the Prince is not a public figure? If he isn't, then why did his picture appear worldwide in every newspaper? Being German, and having lived through WW2 (as a child), I was shocked to see the prince in this stupid and much hated uniform. My second thought was - what an idiot. Let's hope he grows up soon, before he does any more harm to the monarchy. Gisela Lawes, Aschaffenburg, Germany

I'm a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor. But I think that wearing a Nazi uniform costume was not meant in an antisemitic way. All I can say is "so what". Hans Roenau, Greenbrae, California

Have we now reached a stage where perhaps we are all getting somewhat tired of the antics and lifestyle of these people and we just need some sort of excuse to dislike them? What better way than this? Richard Parry, Caernarfon, North Wales

You're exactly right - in the news business anything worth doing is worth overdoing. The pack mentality takes over. The objective is to "get this guy", and others pile on the victim. All should read your excellent column. Marshall Miller, Lilburn, Georgia

Tasteless or not, free expression remains what it is and last time I checked it was a valuable right applied to anyone. Carlito Brigante, New York

Henry's wild-boy antics look like an unwelcome return to the Georgian era, when the royal family wallowed in private excess and failed to set a tone of fairness and decency for the country. Any royal who does not want to accept public criticism for a lack of decorum is entitled to become a private citizen and renounce the benefits and privileges of being in line to the throne. Martin Greig, UK

Why is this all about a callow youth at a party? Surely that father of his should take the blame for raising an uneducated, insensitive son of privilege. That neither Harry nor his brother, and not one of their retinue, saw the stupidity of his choice of costume, just shows that the future king is not fit for the role. Charles should surround himself with people of more substance. Blaise Hopkinson, Bangkok

What a load of nonsense. As for some ex-military buffoon questioning Harry’s entry into the army, maybe the public should see some of the antics that officers of Her Majesty's armed forces get up to during Mess functions - that would certainly raise some politically correct eyebrows. Sue Allan, Christchurch, New Zealand

I think you have it exactly right. Prince Harry has celebrity, whose curse is as great as its benefit. If he volunteers at a children's hospital, the press will declare him a saint. If he pulls a stunt to prove what a cutting edge, bad boy rebel he is, he is accused of mocking the terrible suffering of others. He did a tasteless thing. It is virtually a job requirement of young men his age. He has been told it was hurtful to some, and apologized. The matter should be closed. We have pictures of Titan to marvel at. Billy Walsh, Rockville, Maryland

Youth commits error of judgment. Stop the presses! George Vardy, Ottawa, Canada

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