Harry latest: Ahmed's family speak out

how sad we are to get upset by this. Thought Phillips would jump on the bandwagon, just waiting now for the Taylors and Lawrences to demand his head. Ayaz Ali says "Prince Harry is acting like some low life council estate slob" It's ok to say that then Mr ali

By Kwaker.. Posted March 22 2009 at 6:32 AM.

This excuse of a man makes me sick. Anyone who excuses his behaviour obviously has no experience, in racial slur. Anyone else, (outside the royal family) would never get away which such appauling disgusting behaviour.

Harry should be banned from serving this country. He makes me sick, and he is a mockery of what this country is truly about!

By Naz.. Posted January 14 2009 at 7:01 PM.

I think this video shows that Harry actually has a personality - far more than can be said for some of the royals! Yes, he probably shouldn't have used that word but give the kid a break.

By Izzy.. Posted January 13 2009 at 11:10 PM.

I can see how this could be taken as an insult, but in my opinion i don't think price harry ment to cause as much harm. Although there is not excuse for it,that is just banter which is not rare in the army these days.

By josh lukus-purser.. Posted January 13 2009 at 6:48 PM.

Am I the only person who thinks that the Pakistani dude is completely gorgeous?
Where do they make them like that? Also, can we have some proper news please? Like if he's married/has a girlfriend? It would be an enormous public service yea?

By Rezia.. Posted January 13 2009 at 8:11 PM.

As a general rule of thumb, people only apologise when they have done something wrong. Surely the issue is nothing to do with the service carried out by our brave soldiers but whether Prince Harry should have known better, specifically as he is an ambassador for this country first, regardless of any other duties or responsibilities he chooses to get involved in. As certain people feel they have been affected by his comments, he should take more care in the future on what he says and how he behaves. On a more positive and constructive note, the MOD will now be pressured to do more to stamp out racism within the forces. So well done Harry !!!

By Carole Howard.. Posted January 13 2009 at 12:39 PM.

the prince was just creating jokes with a friend thats all.dont try to make story out of friends charting at a camp level.these are soldiers in training,so any word can be said to a friends u staying with so its not new to a soldier for such words.these are merry jokes that he ahmed should understand as a soldier.

By abdoulie.. Posted January 13 2009 at 12:12 PM.

The fact that a member of our Royal family feels close enough to an Asian person to call him a nick name that someone might find offensive in a relaxed manner shows that he is not racist. If he was racist he would not want to have anything to do with this person and would certainly not want to hang out with him. This is probably the closest friendship any royal has ever had with and asian person.

By Martin.. Posted January 13 2009 at 7:23 AM.

The world is turning into an overly sensitive place because of the Political correctness crowd. We're not taking common sense into account any more and rushing to judgement too soon. This is not even every day society here we're talking about. It's the "real world" here we're talking about. These men live every day with their lives on the line. They can say what they want to their fellow comrades because the next minute they might be DEAD you bunch of righteous elites! These guys are out there fighting for the right for you to think everybody should think the way YOU think. Well let me be the one to tell you...YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE HOW EVERYBODY FEELS ABOUT EVERYTHING AND WHAT EVERYBODY SAYS ABOUT EVERYTHING! GET A LIFE of your own and you won't be so worried what others say in theirs. It must be pretty lonely up high there on your pedestals! Then again, who wants to be up there with such "perfect" people as yourselves!!! Enough with the political correctness crap!

By usanum1.. Posted January 13 2009 at 4:32 AM.

Your royal family by and large are idiots. Look at Prince Phillip and his racist remarks!

By Julia.. Posted January 13 2009 at 12:24 AM.

Whats the big fuss, i dont think that was a rascist comment, and the fool that sent this video in sure is a fool

By liz.. Posted January 12 2009 at 6:28 PM.

Townsend of pounds invests in a spoil rich man. It is a shame, It will be better for England to spend all this money in projects and people that really need, than to send spoil rich men to fight against … nobody knows what!

By Martha.. Posted January 12 2009 at 4:18 PM.

There used to be the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Now all this has changed. What the prince said was disrespectful, yes, but he said it while being a soldier. Barracks language and humor are simply vulgar and a direct result of the military life and stress. He could be forgiven for that I suppose, but on the other hand, he is part of a royal family. Somewhere a long the way, his royal education has failed him. So who do we blame?

By Pamela.. Posted January 12 2009 at 6:00 PM.

Get over yourselves already! This guy has put his life on the line for all you moneymaking, selfrighteous hypocrits with apparently no sense of humour. It is perfectly clear, when taken in context that this video was all in fun and with no malice at all. Just leave him alone.

By Michael Kirk.. Posted January 12 2009 at 2:20 PM.

The British royal family sucks ( except William ). Harry is a spoiled little brat with no brain what so ever.

By Denmark.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:38 PM.

So much fuss this comment has made, have any of the people complaining been to a war zone, fought for their country, i should'nt think so,why does every one want to jump on this bandwaggon and diss someone who has put their life on the line,prince harry has apolagised for this action what do people want ,the prince to be publicly beaten up, denounced by his family when will they be satisfied where will it end,

By MARIA MANN.. Posted January 12 2009 at 12:16 PM.

harry is a very fun young man,i like him so much!
no royal who have a great sense of humor like prince harry,im proud of him!

By diana.. Posted January 12 2009 at 11:46 AM.

I cannot see wot all the fuss is about it was not nasty and boys will be boys they were fooling around nothing wrong in that.Wonder if harry thinks ginger pubes is racist. We could go on and on leave the lad alone i say

By Gez.. Posted January 12 2009 at 10:35 AM.

Back off and just leave the Royal Family alone. Some of us think that they are doing a good job in difficult circumstances. I dont consider it a racist comment, no worse than the British being called Limey's by the USA or Pommy's by the Australians. In fact when I was travelling in Australia and New Zealand, I called myself a POMMY!

By Len.. Posted January 12 2009 at 8:24 AM.

Everything was in jest, fun amongst friends.

Why haven't we heard from Ahmed, or his parents about their stance on this?

Was an uncle the only person the press could find?

The only really bad thing done here was the fact that Harry apparently did not own or control the camera.. and a film among friends was sold on the open market.

c'mon people, lighten up!

By Oklahoma.. Posted January 12 2009 at 7:38 AM.

I'm from Oklahoma...people call us "Okies"
I call people from Scotland "Scots"
People from NE USA are called "Yanks"
The British are reduced to "Brits"
Australians are "Aussies"

What's the problem with shortening Pakistani to "****" . I don't get it.

And, I've heard people say "it's as offensive as the 'N' word." Firstly, I never knew that and don't really understand why. Secondly, if a word is SO offensive (speaking of the N word, here) please keep it out altogether....it's so overused in rap songs that it's ridiculous.

Harry came off as a "people's prince" in that video...very normal, funny, sarcastic & good comedic timing! Rock on, Harry!

By Patti.. Posted January 12 2009 at 5:56 AM.

Harry has done nothing wrong & if he has then the all of the British Army would be at fault, & I don't care what the M.O.D. say it has gone on for years even when I was serving back in 1975.
A Scotsman would be called scotty or jock, a welshman would be called Taffy & an Irshman Paddy, So why the bloody hell do you as a paper try to discredit Prince Harry because a Pakistani gets called ****?
I can tell you now that whatever is said the soldiers that call their mates these names would also lay down their lives for them in Battle, its not racist, its not derogertory, names & words have been shoten for years, So stop adding to the PC Brigade and start supporting our troops & get over your so called racist insecurities & find a proper story to interest the great British public.
yours Ex Para.

By R Fox.. Posted January 12 2009 at 3:02 AM.

I have a big problem with this. The way he pointed to Ahmed and called him that name made me uncomfortable because it doesn't look as if Ahmed was in on the joke, he was just minding his own business. Harry's just showing his true racist colours. And I doubt that the people commenting who say it was blown out of proportion have ever had to deal with racism in their life. Just wait one day until you're not let in on the joke and see how it feels.

And to all the people who insist that being called a Brit wouldn't offend them, that's just crap logic. Generally Brit is not considered a derogatory term and the term Harry used to refer to Ahmed is fully loaded and definitely derogatory. I would dare these people to go up to a person of Pakistani origin in the street and say that term to their face and see how it works out. Most definitely racist.

By Moya.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:59 AM.

i usually avoid to post comments to save my time, but when i read the comments posted here, i decided to say somthing. most of you are defending the MR PRINCE and it seems very "Racist" to me.
the word **** is different from SCOT etc for those who are not ignorant and it refers to critical or disrespectful. this word is included in the list of ethnic slurs on Wikipedia. this is for those who neutraly wants to know the matter, and not for Racist and ignorant people. thanks

By danny.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:44 AM.

yes its easy to say whats wrong with being called a **** nothing if **** was ever used in a nice manner as scot or paddy but I have grown up with it when it was used as verbal abuse and most us will recall not so long ago how much offence it caused when jade goody used it towards shilpa shetty its the way it it has been used which gives offence the prince should know better when so much has been spent on making him better than commoners.

By kausar.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:36 AM.

LET'S HEAR FROM AHMED!!! ARE YOU OFFENDED???

By Karl Hopkins.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:00 AM.

whoever says that the word '****' is not derogatory or insulting is obviously stupid or ignorant. For those who defend him as saying there's no intent in his words need to get an education. I am laughing my head off, when some people say that that term is the same as calling a scotsman, a jock or a scot is. Then again, Harry can't be really blamed when in reality a large number of English people are rascist, when you consider the amount of racially instigated crimes that occur to this day. It makes you wonder whether England is multicultural mainly in fact, but not in reality.

By chris.. Posted January 12 2009 at 1:21 AM.

Im sure if he's that upset he can always sling his hook back, but Im sure he wont!!!!!

By Mark.. Posted January 12 2009 at 12:00 AM.

For goodness sake a lot of fuss over nothing. I am scot from scotland. I dont take offence at that. I am fed up listening to certain groups moaning about their rights. The Royal Family work hard and do good for this country and in other countries. Back off the Royals.

By Elizabeth.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:32 PM.

stop making mountains out of mole hills and this country could be a better place to live in.

By brian walker.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:31 PM.

For goodness sake a lot of fuss over nothing. I am scot from scotland. I dont take offence at that. I am fed up listening to certain groups moaning about their rights. The Royal Family work hard and do good for this country and in other countries. Back off the Royals.

By Elizabeth.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:33 PM.

All people calling this outrageous really need to learn what the word "Intent" means. Seriously go get your dictionaries out and apply it to this context, then realise that it's the same as calling a ginger friend "Ging-er" or even bringing up the colour of their pubic hair. HINT HINT

By Mike.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:41 PM.

you lot want to get a life you are all sooooo bloody perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr fect dont say a word out of place yyyyyyyuccckkk get a bloooody life

By ann.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:41 PM.

I do not see why all the fuss, we dont complain when we are referred to as Scots or Jocks instead of our full title of Scottish.

By whitty.. Posted January 11 2009 at 11:22 PM.

A storm in a tea-cup stirred up for an attention-grabbing headline! Anyone who worries about this is short of something real to be make a fuss about!

By Maddy.. Posted January 11 2009 at 11:18 PM.

GOOD OL HARRY WE LUVOOOOOO MY BOY THE SYING GOES DONT WORRY

By ann.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:45 PM.

One thing which would never going to end from this nation is the Racism; and even the Royal Family, such a shame for the whole country..

'Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.' (Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, 1847).

By Sal.. Posted January 11 2009 at 11:04 PM.

whatever was said by harry, should only become a serious matter if the soldier in question made a formal complaint himself.the only person claiming it is rasist is the person who revealed this video to the news papers

By brian walker.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:22 PM.

Its a word - we could all say words that will offend someone somewhere. If he'd been shouting at the guy like "oy you p..." then yes - out of order but he wasnt. I'm not a royalist so its got nothing to do with that. This country is turning into a dictatorship where the littlest thing can be jumped on and there is no freedom of speech.

By me.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:21 PM.

This is being blown out of all proportion. The media are treating it as if it were yesterday. It was 3 years ago, for heaven's sake. What on Earth can he do about it know except to apologise? We don't know how his friend felt about it at the time, but I bet he's feeling mighty uncomfortable now.

By pippa.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:18 PM.

Get over it, this was three years ago are there not more important things going on in the world??? This is political correctness gone crazy!!!!! I do not think there is anything to apologise for, I am sure if the other Gentleman had a problem with it he would of taken action himself!! This is all fuss over nothing. I think it is disgusting that so many peolple are making such a big issue out of it.

By Kayleigh.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:15 PM.

I wish my life were so boring I could get outraged about this, instead I just find it funny.

By Vicky.. Posted January 11 2009 at 10:03 PM.

After watcing this video, I am quite surprised at the uproar it has created. In particular the fact that this video appears to have been taken out of context.
Whilst I do not condone either phrase he used, is there anyone out there who can say in all honesty that they have never used a racist slur in their lives?
His one true mistake was by allowing what must have been a personal or 'team' video to be publicly aired.
His only crimes are that of ignorance and naivety.

By Julia.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:46 PM.

What a bunch of sissies! Young MEN do this, especially those in uniform. You bunch of wimps that are hyperventilating over barracks banter wouldn't know comradery or loyalty if it were shoved up your behind with a red hot poker. As long as men have been going off to war or down to the ships, there has been a long held tradition of heaping insults on one another as test of your mettle. Anyone who can not handle it can expect to receive it tenfold. Nothing is sacred including your dear old mother. The new guy is immediately felt out to see if he has any cajones and can give as good as he takes. A typical episode would go something like...."Hey, (new guy), you got any pictures of your wife / girlfriend naked?" to which the usual response is "NO". followed by a "Do you want to buy some?"
Those of you who have never worn the uniform on either side of the pond should just calm down, this is normal behavior for men. Get some testostrone patches and learn how to pee standing up.

By Master Chief.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:19 PM.

If he Army does its job it should sack him - as an example to the rank and file. Lets see if real justice and accountability exists in the British Army.

By Khan.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:50 PM.

Aw, Get over it!

Remember when we could laugh at each other, and ourselves?

Remember when racism involved ill will or mean spiritedness on the part of the person accused of racism?

With an entire Ministry devoted to a politically correct Britain, shouldn't racism, crime, hurt feelings, and school bullies all be eradicated now?

Harry was being a 20-something year old Military guy among friends. Lighten Up World!

Harry, if you are ever in the States, I'd like to buy you a pint! .. No cameras, though!

By Oklahoma.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:49 PM.

why is this such an offensive term to those who are from Pakistan?

I don't cry racism everytime someone calls me a Brit instead of a Briton - sorry but I just don't get it!

By jenny.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:05 PM.

What a fuss over a funny video. Surely anyone woith common sense will know that it was all meant in good humour. We are now becoming a nation of do gooders. Anything for the front page. Where is the British sense of humour gone?

By Knight.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:00 PM.

Ayaz - how is he acting like someone from a council estate? Don't you think you are making generalised remarks about a massive community of people? - only poorer people are lazy? - My Mother's parents who are no longer with us lived on a council estate their whole married life and always worked, my grandad was actually employed at the time of his death - they worked much harder than your typical mansion owning footballer -Although I do not live on a council estate I find your remarks much more offensive than someone calling me a scouser which is your argument!

By jenny.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:15 PM.

To happy harry--May I ask if the place you moved to looks after all their citizens better than the uk? Because it seems there are many people who want permission to live here, so it can`t all be bad..We know the Royals do not need to worry about where they get their next meal from, etc. but I would like to add the majority of the population want them and they do work for the good of this country and others.
A Royalist

By liz.. Posted January 11 2009 at 9:14 PM.

Cheers to Harry,long live the royal family.

By Harvey Hill.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:08 PM.

see what your tax money goes to!!!!!! strip the royals of all titles and rights and put them to work in the real world where they are not spoonfed,what makes it worse is that everyone acepts them with lovingly open arms, this is one reason why I left the uk, the uk looks after all the wrong people and sticks to all the right people, mugs, the lot of you if your prepared to acept it, just remember where the money the royals have comes from, hard earned cash from, the hard working honest people make the money and the royals sit laughing while they spend it, how can someone call themself a leader if they cant set an example, there is no shame there as he feels no shame, spoiled children have no shame and dont know the meaning of the word, its totaol embarassment for the people who supply the royals with the hard earned cash they make from doing any kind of work they can. scrap the royals.

By happy harry.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:12 PM.

So it is derogatory to be called Brit or Scott. Oh come on people have a life.

By Onnie Pilapil.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:12 PM.

WoW what a big fuss about nothing IMHO. I'm sorry but to me this honestly wasn't that bad. I definitely feel in the past this kid has made some BAD missteps and errors in judgment but I don't see this as anything out of the ordinary going on in just about any troop in this war realistically.

And the fact that the Queen was getting all this footage might be a good thing (since we only saw snippets of it, who knows what info the entire thing shows). But I know I'd feel better to know all world leaders were seeing as much as possible of what is really going on in the war. Can't hurt.

Last, come on, that "God Save You" was downright hysterical given the well known "God Save the Queen" phrase. He got props from me for saying that to her, and showing signs of being real vs another snobby seeming Royal. JMHO of course

By justme.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:34 PM.

He did lead by example going to war. That alone shows he doesn't want to be seen as different. He's a down to earth fella who enjoys a laugh. He also took the mick out of himself and his own family. It's called having a laugh, end at the end of the video sounds like Ahmed asking him the question, did he get upset?

By Tim.. Posted January 11 2009 at 8:32 PM.

They wonder why the Asian youth are disillusioned and why there is a small intake into the army and other services. what Prince harry has done is shown what Asians have known for ages (racist attitudes still prevail). How does the mod think this is going to go down with recruiting Asians?

By simon.. Posted January 11 2009 at 7:52 PM.

Do we get upset when someone calls us a "Brit" which is short for British.....

By Luke.. Posted January 11 2009 at 7:34 PM.

Visualize if he happen to king. Chief of Country. What a dishonor, the majestic family should lead by example. Prince Harry is drama like some low life council estate lazybones.

By PROF. S. M. ANSARI.. Posted January 11 2009 at 7:33 PM.

wake up to the real world, it's only a word.
ive been called worse,

By j g zent.. Posted January 11 2009 at 7:18 PM.

Get real,theres nothing wrong with these comments.
If the guy had been asked what he though he would have said the same thing.You just stir up a load of crap which has no use to anyone except so called do gooders.Comeron got on the band wagon another no hoper like that last basket Blair.

By jammie.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:25 PM.

Racist remarks from the royal family or indeed any decent British family is abhorent.Lets see wether Army procedures will make a significant impact on this young princes career, after all his paternal grand-father has been getting away with despicable racist comments for years without so much as a public apology and is tolerated all too lovingly by the British public.
Ethnic minority groups in England have come to accept and tolerate the ignorance and bigotry of some people in this country but to have someone of promimnence behave in such a lowly manner is not acceptable and we as a hopefully progressive nation should show zero tolerance towards this so called highly-bred twit! "Off with his head" and while we're at it lets have Prince Phillips as well for his hateful racist remarks towards aborignal australians and chinese people. I fear we "aint heard nothing yet" from that bunch of over-priveledged idiots and don't You feel like your taxes have gone down the pan! What a waste!

By Marcus Naidoo.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:32 PM.

He is just bonding with his classmates. Give him a break!

By William Shah.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:47 PM.

dont see what all the fuss is about to be honest

By ed r e m e.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:44 PM.

I wish Diana were still here.

By James.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:58 PM.

Get over it, political correctness sucks, this is his video leave him alone and get over it!

By nina.. Posted January 11 2009 at 6:58 PM.

Of course he is not particularly different from anybody else his age, which is why the royal family should be disbanded and no more public money wasted on them.

By RichardEP.. Posted January 11 2009 at 5:40 PM.

This little idiot-prince should be booted out of the army.
He is too dumb even to be a squaddie let alone an officer.
Let him get back to what he does best - womanising, getting drunk, kicking off, party-going, night-clubbing and generally being an airhead playboy along with his equally useless brother.
He is just a total waste of space and an utter disgrace to the royal family.
Goodness knows what our wondeful queen thinks of him - she never puts a foot wrong EVER.

By ROGER.. Posted January 11 2009 at 5:39 PM.

imagine if he became king. commander in chief. what a disgrace, the royal family should lead by example. Prince Harry is acting like some low life council estate slob.

By ayaz ali.. Posted January 11 2009 at 5:44 PM.

imagine if he became king. commander in chief. what a disgrace, the royal family should lead by example. Prince Harry is acting like some low life council estate slob.

By ayaz ali.. Posted January 11 2009 at 5:43 PM.

He should be an example for everybody. Shame....is what it´s. He has not excuse.

By justo.. Posted January 11 2009 at 5:43 PM.