Prince Harry condemns rising wave of antisemitism weeks after Bondi beach visit as he admits wearing Nazi uniform was 'biggest mistake'

The Duke of Sussex says he has learnt from his "past mistakes" of wearing a Nazi costume to a fancy dress party, while condemning the rising tide of antisemitism across the world.

Describing the rise in antisemitic violence in the UK as "deeply troubling", Prince Harry criticised states acting "without accountability and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law".

The 44-year-old made the strong comments in a written essay for The New Statesman, arguing he felt the need to speak out because remaining silent allows "hate and extremism to flourish unchecked".

In the piece titled 'My fears for a divided kingdom' he also expressed concerns about rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the UK and around the world.

Referencing the synagogue attack in Manchester in October that left two people dead, and the stabbing of two Jewish men in London last month, Prince Harry said "hatred directed at people for who they are, or or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice."

Last month, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Bondi Beach to meet with survivors and emergency responders following the massacre there in December. Two gunman opened fire during the Chanukah by the Sea celebration, killing 15 people including a 10-year-old girl.

Prince Harry and Meghan spent time speaking with representatives from the Jewish community including a mother who shielded her daughter from the gunfire.

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In his essay, Harry wrote: "We cannot ignore a difficult truth: when states act without accountability, and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law, criticism is both legitimate, necessary and essential in any democracy.

"The consequences do not remain contained within borders. They reverberate outward, shaping perception, inflaming tensions."

While he admitted there was "deep and justified alarm" about recent events in the Middle East and a "human and necessary" instinct to protest and demand accountability, people had to be more clear about the target of their anger.

The duke wrote: "We have seen how legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home – just as we have also seen how criticism of those actions can be too easily dismissed or mischaracterised.

"Nothing, whether criticism of a government or the reality of violence and destruction, can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith."

He added: "When anger is turned towards communities – whether Jewish, Muslim, or any other – it ceases to be a call for justice and becomes something far more corrosive."

Prince Harry also apologised for wearing a Nazi costume to a fancy dress party in 2005, calling it "one of the biggest mistakes of my life".

"I am acutely aware of my own past mistakes – thoughtless actions for which I have apologised, taken responsibility and learnt from," the prince wrote.

"That experience informs my conviction that clarity matters now more than ever, at a time when confusion and the distortion of truth are doing real harm – even when speaking plainly is not without consequence. It requires responsibility from all of us."

Harry, who was 20 at the time, wore the uniform with a swastika on his left arm to a "native and colonial" themed party, thrown by a friend.

In his 2023 memoir Spare, the duke claimed the now Prince and Princess of Wales encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform and "howled with laughter" when they saw him in it.

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