Prince Charles And His Sons Reportedly Called An Indian Polo Club Member "Sooty"

Britain's Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry reportedly call an Indian member of their polo club "Sooty." The royal trio met Kolin Dhillion when they joined Cirencester Polo Club in south England and began calling him "sooty," in reference to his dark skin.

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However, other club members insist Dhillon is friends with the princes and does not object to their "affectionate nickname."

A source said: "Charles, along with both of his boys, have called this chap Sooty because it is his nickname and he is perfectly comfortable with it."

Harry has been widely condemned this week after a video showing him referring to an Army colleague as a "P**i" was leaked.

But a polo club source has defended the prince, telling Britain's The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "They are no more racists than I am and I use the word to address this chap whenever I see him too. I suppose we all see it as a sort of running joke about political correctness."

Members of the Armed Forces agree the 24-year-old royal's comments have been taken out of context.

One man, a 38-year-old British Muslim who has been in the British army for 11 years, said public outrage Harry's comments was "pure nonsense."

He said: "When I joined the army my first nickname was 'Private foreign bollocks,' and it was a relief when people started calling me that because I knew that it meant I had been accepted. It is the sort of thing that is said with good humor among friends."

Another senior NCO said: "Within the armed forces, because we are dealing with a lot emotionally - seeing your friends killed, people losing body parts - we take things more lightly and you can handle a bit of flak about where you come from or what color you are."

"The guy that Harry called a P**i wasn't crying or moaning about it. You don't know if he gave him much stick back and called him a posh ginger t**t."