{"id":959660,"date":"2026-05-14T16:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959660\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:34:27","slug":"why-prince-harry-is-the-wrong-man-to-talk-about-antisemitism-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/959660\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Prince Harry is the wrong man to talk about antisemitism in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have parted ways with 11 publicists in the last five years. Might I humbly suggest that the next one they hire is on at least nodding terms with the English language? Prince Harry\u2019s well-intentioned but ultimately banal piece<\/a> about antisemitism in the New Statesman is full of badly written platitudes. At one point, he writes, \u201cCriticism is both legitimate, necessary and essential in any democracy<\/a>.\u201d Surely Harry, who was taught at Eton \u2013 one of Britain\u2019s top public schools \u2013 knows that \u201cboth\u201d only applies to two quantities, not three?<\/p>\n

When he wrote Spare, the international bestseller, he had the services of JR Moehringer, a distinguished ghostwriter. But now, stranded in Montecito, far away from the protective shell of the royal family \u2013 and its courtiers and advisers \u2013 Harry, with his B in art and D in geography A-levels, is left to ponder the world\u2019s problems with only his wife and fly-by-night communications team to help him.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing actually wrong with the general message of his New Statesman essay. Harry supports \u201cstanding against antisemitism<\/a> wherever it appears, while recognising that anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of racism draw from the same well of division\u201d. <\/p>\n

Few would disagree with him. He also states the true but equally well-known line that the actions of Israel should not be equated with the actions of all Jews. But the real question here is why on earth does Harry think he, of all people, should be the one to tell us what we already know?<\/p>\n

\"Harry\u2019sHarry\u2019s op-ed stated that \u2018all forms of racism draw from the same well of division\u2019 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Julius Caesar was said to have had a slave by his side to whisper in his ear that he was mortal \u2013 not a god. Well, Prince Harry should employ a tough PR man to tell him, too, he has his limitations. His uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, could have done with a similar figure telling him not to do his doomed Newsnight interview.<\/p>\n

Harry at least does have the good grace in his piece to acknowledge his \u201cthoughtless\u201d mistake of dressing up as a Nazi for a \u201cColonials and Natives\u201d fancy-dress party in January 2005. He, however, failed to mention the royal family\u2019s wider problematic past with Nazi Germany. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor grew far too close to Hitler. Prince Philip, who fought a valiant war, had four sisters who all married German princes. Of course, the behaviour of his great-aunts and his great-great-uncle shouldn\u2019t be held against Harry. But it just goes to show how very delicately the royal family has to step around all political issues, remaining objective at all times.<\/p>\n

It takes a lifetime of hard royal diplomatic yards to master this delicate dance. The King showed that mastery so elegantly in his recent American visit. His speech to Congress was a lesson in subtle oratory, with the most sublime and gentlest of digs at President Trump, while maintaining all-important good relations with the most powerful person in the world.<\/p>\n

\"Harry\u2019sHarry\u2019s plight is well-intentioned, but living all the way in Montecito, he can\u2019t begin to understand how those in the UK subject to hatred feel (Getty)<\/p>\n

The King is a seasoned diplomat who has been at the heart of the British constitution\u2019s apparatus since his birth in 1948. His quips displayed detailed and intimate knowledge of British history and he is known as a serious and committed thinker on matters of religion and spirituality. This kind of deep thinking cannot be said for poor Harry, whose heart may be in the right place, but whose brain has never been considered of especially high-wattage.<\/p>\n

He may have bags of emotional intelligence and a disarming way of connecting with the public when he\u2019s out on the stump, but this latest move to wade straight off the bat into one of the most divisive hot-potato issues gripping Britain today hints at a man with buckets of self-importance too.<\/p>\n

How can he get a handle on the complexities and prickliness of the arguments when he doesn\u2019t even live here? And from what position does he believe he is speaking? His non-status in royal or public affairs was made crystal clear in 2020 with the late Queen\u2019s Sandringham Summit statement. The Sussexes would no longer be full-time working members of the royal family. They would retain the HRH style but not use it. The duke would no longer carry out British military appointments and wouldn\u2019t represent the royal family at military occasions. <\/p>\n

And so Harry is left with none of the official authority that might have bolstered his latest attempts to hold forth on urgent issues facing the country.<\/p>\n

Harry, like his wife, is struggling to find his place in a world which is increasingly unbothered by what they have to say. While Meghan may once have thought she could be the next Michelle Obama, she has little of the Harvard graduate\u2019s academic and professional qualifications in law and experience of public service, so has been reduced to being an overpaid seller of overpriced jam, turning out podcasts and TV programmes with ever-shrinking audiences.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe couple\u2019s recent tour in Australia had its bad and good moments, laying bare a certain issue of identity for the pair (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s recent non-royal royal tour<\/a> to Australia was met with decidedly mixed results, especially when a planned trip to a children\u2019s hospital was mixed up with a clumsy commercial deal to cash in on the outfit Meghan was wearing. Harry also made a considerate and sincere visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to honour military veterans. But that too felt a little empty now that he has lost his official royal status within the armed services. Their statements on mental health and the damage of social media were well-intentioned, but were clumsily juxtaposed with a couple who ultimately now have to use their fame to make money. What an awkward display it made for.<\/p>\n

That is not to say Harry shouldn’t do anything. The truth is, Britain does miss his natural razzle-dazzle and charm. And when Harry is good, he is brilliant. Just look at the Invictus Games \u2013 an inspired idea, helping wounded and sick veterans. Begun in 2014, the games will be held in Birmingham next year. <\/p>\n

While it remains to be seen whether the relationship between his father and brother will be thawed enough for them to cheer him on, there is no denying that the Invictus Games come straight from Harry\u2019s heart. They are authentically his creation \u2013 and reflect his finest hour, serving in the army for a decade. When he allies that charm to the best things he\u2019s done in his career, we sit up and take notice and cheer him on.<\/p>\n

Yet, pontificating from up high in his mansion in the Montecito hills about an issue raging on the streets thousands of miles away from him feels off. It adds to the growing impression of a little lost prince desperately trying to find his voice. There is nothing wrong with his message, but it makes you wonder whether the man delivering it has just a little too much time on his hands. Harry may have been wiser to have spent a little bit more of that time thinking things through. <\/p>\n

Harry Mount is author of \u2018How England Made the English\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have parted ways with 11 publicists in the last five years. Might…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":959661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[22228,47671,12190,393,44888,609,48279,2249,268099,18744,268098,8547,5105,7710,519,448,16],"class_list":{"0":"post-959660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-central-london","9":"tag-color-image","10":"tag-downing-street","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-horizontal","13":"tag-human-interest","14":"tag-london-england","15":"tag-photography","16":"tag-political-rally","17":"tag-protest","18":"tag-protestor","19":"tag-religion","20":"tag-royal","21":"tag-royal-families","22":"tag-royal-family","23":"tag-royals","24":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116573902727772680","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}