Prince Harry has weighed in on the “deeply troubling” rise in antisemitism in Britain in an opinion piece penned from his California home.

The Duke of Sussex stressed the importance of “legitimate protest”, adding that he felt compelled to speak out because in his view standing on the sidelines allows “hate and extremism to flourish unchecked”.

Writing in Britain’s The New Statesman in an article titled “My fears for a divided kingdom” on Thursday, Harry referenced recent lethal violence against the Jewish community in Manchester and in London and said “hatred directed at people for who they are, or what they believe, is not protest. It is prejudice”.

Harry also wrote about the “deep and justified alarm” at the scale of loss in Gaza and Lebanon but argued people must be clearer about where their anger is directed.

“We have seen how legitimate protest against state actions in the Middle East does exist alongside hostility toward Jewish communities at home – just as we have also seen how criticism of those actions can be too easily dismissed or mischaracterised,” he wrote.

“Nothing, whether criticism of a government or the reality of violence and destruction, can ever justify hostility toward an entire people or faith.”

Harry’s article came a day before his father the King visited Golders Green in London. It is home to a sizeable Jewish population and has borne the brunt of the recent antisemitic incidents across the British capital.

Cheering crowds greeted the King on Thursday, while he also met two victims of a recent stabbing attack in the unannounced visit.

“Thank you, your majesty, for coming today to Golders Green to bring comfort and encouragement to our Jewish community!” UK Chief Rabbi ‌Ephraim Mirvis, ⁠who was there to greet the King, said on X.

It was the King’s latest demonstration of backing for the Jewish community. Last year he visited ‌a synagogue in northern England following an attack that left two ​worshippers dead and in March he agreed to become patron of a charity that provides security for Britain’s estimated 290,000 Jews.

Prince Harry was widely criticised for the Nazi costume he wore to a fancy dress party. Photo: Getty

‘My own mistakes’

In his article, which did not mention Israel directly, Harry said he had learned from his own past mistakes.

Twenty years ago, the prince – who has lived in the US since 2021 with wife Meghan Markle and their two children – was pilloried after being photographed at a party in a Nazi uniform.

“I am acutely aware ‌of my own past mistakes – thoughtless actions ​for which I have apologised, taken responsibility and learned from,” he said.

In his best-selling memoir Spare, Harry wrote that his now-estranged brother Prince William and then girlfriend Kate Middleton thought his costume for the “native and colonial” fancy dress party in 2005 was hilarious.

“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought … They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous!” he wrote.

The reaction to his New Statesman article was mixed, with many social media users praising his stand. Others, however were more critical.

“Harry, of all people, is in no position to talk/lecture anyone about anything in the United Kingdom,” wrote one New Statesman follower on X.

“Whose divided kingdom? Harry, YOU LEFT,” wrote another, while a third said: “It’s not his home anymore, why is he poking his nose into our politics?”

Prince Harry and Meghan on their recent visit to Australia. Photo: AAP

The prince also criticised the lack of nuance in public discussion following the recent British attacks. He bemoaned polarised public debate, and said it deepened the confusion that “fuels division”.

Harry acknowledged that the instinct to speak out, march and call for an end to suffering was “human and necessary” but said it must be clear that the “onus falls squarely on the state – not an entire people”.

“We cannot ignore a difficult truth: When states act without accountability, and in ways that raise serious questions under international humanitarian law – criticism is both legitimate, necessary and essential in any democracy,” Harry wrote.

“The consequences do not remain contained within borders. They reverberate outward, shaping perception, inflaming tensions.”

Harry concluded with an appeal for unity and a call for people to stand against antisemitism and Islamophobia wherever they appeared.

“When anger is turned towards communities – whether Jewish, Muslim, or any other – it ceases to be a call for justice and becomes something far more corrosive,” he wrote.

-with AAP