Criticism of Harry for Nazi garb irks father

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From combined dispatches

LONDON -- Prince Charles thinks that his son, Prince Harry, is being unfairly attacked for wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party, an act he regards as an ill-considered schoolboy stunt.

Prince Charles told his advisers that he will not stand for his son being "hung out to dry," according to a report in the London Evening Standard yesterday.

One official said: "As far as the prince is concerned, Harry has apologized for his mistake. He has said 'sorry' and that is the end of the matter."

It was further decided, the official said, that there will be no gesture such as a public trip by Prince Harry to the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland.

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, also yesterday rejected demands he make further apologies for having dressed as a Nazi, after photographs of him sparked an international outcry.

However, the prince is considering offers by groups to learn more about the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, a royal family spokesman said yesterday.

Michael Howard, leader of Britain's main opposition Conservative Party and a Jew, was among several prominent people at home and abroad to demand that Prince Harry go beyond his written statement and appear in person to apologize for the costume.

A royal family spokesman said "nothing more is needed" from the 20-year-old as his aunt Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, urged the media to back off in its criticism.

"I want someone to stand up for him and say he is a very good man, and I'm that person," she told BBC Radio.

A spokesman for Clarence House, the office of Prince Charles, said: "We feel that Harry gave a full and public apology Wednesday as soon as it became clear that the photos could cause pain to people."

When Thursday's edition of the Sun newspaper hit the newsstands with a front-page photograph of Prince Harry in a Nazi costume, Clarence House released a written apology attributed to Prince Harry.

"I am sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone," said Prince Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. "It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."

But Clarence House called "inaccurate" reports in yesterday's edition of the Sun that Prince Charles ordered his sons to make a private visit with Jewish charities to the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

"That's not something that we're looking at at the moment," the spokesman said. The spokesman said, however, that he cannot rule out a visit to Auschwitz, or one of the other camps, at some time in the future.

The royal family said Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son and seventh in line to the throne, would attend a Jan. 27 ceremony at Auschwitz marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration. The visit had been planned before the furor erupted.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also will attend the ceremony, upgrading the delegation previously led by minister of state for Europe, Denis MacShane, but the Foreign Office said the decision was "not in response to Prince Harry."