Prince Harry should apologise for his own shortcomings, one panelist has said. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry should apologise for his own shortcomings, one panelist has said. Photo / Getty Images
A UK panelist has called for Prince Harry to apologise for his own "shortcomings" in light of current discussions around racism.
Speaking on UK talk show Loose Women, Jane Moore discussed the Duke of Sussex's speech for the Princess Diana Award in which he apologised for "endemic" racism, according tothe Daily Mail.
She referred to a 2006 clip of Harry which emerged three years later and showed him using a racial slur to describe a Pakistani soldier. St James' Palace apologised and Harry, then 21, was sent to participate in a diversity course.
"Any mistake that somebody's made in the past can be forgiven, but for me, I would like him to have said, 'I myself have made mistakes'," Moore said.
Another panelist Judy Love said that being married to Meghan, who is biracial, could have pushed Harry to reflect on his own history.
Moore said that history was missing from his speech this week.
"A video was leaked out where he was saying some very inappropriate non PC things, and St James' Palace had to issue an apology and he got sent onto some sort of diversity course.
Marrying Meghan, who is biracial, could have caused Harry to reflect on his own mistakes. Photo / Getty Images
"I don't think I need Prince Harry to apologise for me, because I've not done the things that he's done in his past.
"I thought it would have been more powerful if he had actually said, 'Look, I've made mistakes'."
When the video resurfaced in 2009, Harry had already faced backlash over wearing a Nazi costume to a 2005 Halloween party.
The video shows Harry introducing "our little P*** friend", referring to another officer. In another instance, he called another soldier a "rag-head".
St James' Palace insisted Harry hadn't used the word "maliciously" and that he understood it was offensive, while a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said that neither the Army nor the British armed forces tolerated "inappropriate behaviour".
"All substantive allegations are investigated. We are not aware of any complaint being made by the individual."
Now, 11 years later, Harry addressed the latest surge in the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing of George Floyd.
"My wife said recently that our generation and the ones before us haven't done enough to wipe the wrongs of the past. I too am sorry," Harry said in the video.
"Sorry that we haven't got the world to the place where you deserve it to be. Institutional racism has no place in our societies, yet it is still endemic.
"Unconscious bias must be acknowledged without blame to create a better world for all of you. I want you to know that we are committed to being part of the solution and to being part of the change that you are all leading. Now is the time and we know that you can do it."
