Oh, those wacky Brits

Our famous son can't take all the bad press here at YWA.

Prince Harry apologized Wednesday night after a tabloid newspaper printed a picture of him wearing a Nazi soldier's uniform to a costume party.

Early editions of Thursday's issue of "The Sun," showed Prince Harry - the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana - clutching a cigarette and a drink and wearing a swastika armband.

Asked to comment on the photo, the 20-year-old prince issued a statement saying he is "very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone... It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize."

The Queen's former assistant press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said he was "astounded" to hear that "a member of the Royal Family, albeit a young member of the Royal Family, can be so incredibly stupid, given that he has had a first class education."

CBS article

Must be the poor breeding then.

Heil Harry: prince goose-steps out of line

Maybe another famous British son is doing better...

The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pleaded guilty on Thursday to a role in a foiled mercenary plot in west Africa under a plea bargain to avoid prison.

[...]

Thatcher, who has lived for the past eight years in South Africa, was arrested in Cape Town last Aug. 25 on charges of funding a foiled coup in Equatorial Guinea.

[...]

The Cape High Court agreed to a deal for Mark Thatcher to pay a fine of 3 million rand ($500,000) or face five years in jail in South Africa, in addition to a further 4-year prison sentence suspended for five years.

Prosecutors said Thatcher was free to leave South Africa.

"There is no price too high for me to pay to be reunited with my family and I am sure all of you who are husbands and fathers would agree with that," Thatcher said on the steps of the court after the hearing.

A mocking banner strung from the third storey of an office block opposite the courthouse read "Save me mummy." It was not clear who placed it. On the steps outside the court one man chanted "Shame on you, shame on you."

Thatcher also agreed to assist South African investigations into the plot against the government of Equatorial Guinea, a tiny country flush with newly-found oil wealth.

Reuters article

Punk and stoolie.

The plea bargain drew an angry reaction from the youth wing of South Africa's ruling African National Congress.

"This is indeed an abomination and miscarriage of justice," a league statement said, adding that Thatcher had got away with "nothing more than a slap in the wrist."

And he didn't even have to apologize.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.