Fallout continues in Prince Harry's nude photo scandal
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A day after nude photos of Prince Harry partying in a Las Vegas VIP hotel suite were posted online, they were nowhere to be found on the pages or websites of Britain's major newspapers. As of late Thursday on Los Angeles time, only tabloid The Sun had dared to publish them in Friday's edition, Much of the reason is that the royal family contacted the London-based Press Complaints Commission, which describes itself as "an independent self-regulatory body" for journalists, on Wednesday. Furthermore, a spokesman for the royals confirmed that newspapers were reminded that the PCC's code of practice for editors stipulates that "it is unacceptable to photograph individuals in private places without their consent." After all, the prince was on holiday, and the grainy images of him in the buff appear to have been snapped by a phone. Rory Carroll, a U.S. West Coast correspondent for British newspaper The Guardian, explained the overseas media's reaction to E! Online. "The royal family can ask to deny the right of the photos being published, but it's more of the British media self-policing and being afraid to print them," he said. "In this climate, with the Leveson Inquiry [a public inquiry into press ethics following the highly publicized phone hacking scandal], there's been so much focus on the media, especially the tabloids and their excesses, like the hacking scandal – it's made everyone much more skittish."
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As the royal family scrambled to make the pics disappear, many were left wondering why they existed in the first place. By this point, shouldn't 27-year-old Prince Harry know that there are plenty of people looking to make a buck off of private photos of him? And even if he doesn’t, shouldn't his security detail? The level of security that surrounds the prince is kept under wraps. However, security experts estimate that the cost of security for the entire royal family is $48 million to $159 million per year, according to the Associated Press. Ken Wharfe, a former bodyguard of Prince William, Prince Harry, and their mother Princess Diana, told the AP that more precautions should have been taken. "If it were me, I'd say, 'Sir, I don't mind you having your fun but whoever comes in that door I need to know who it is, where they are from, and if they have any mobile phones they have to leave them at the door,'" Wharfe noted.
Since they didn't, Prince Harry will continue to face repercussions at home and at work. His seemingly more responsible older brother William, 30, is "not impressed," a royal source told Us Weekly. In addition, the magazine quoted a senior military source, who revealed that army officer Harry is likely to be reprimanded when he returns to duty. "Officers should never bring the Service into disrepute, whether on or off duty," the source said. "This display of social misbehavior has raised eyebrows."
At least Harry's trip to Las Vegas wasn't a complete bust. He did manage to establish a friendly rivalry with Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte. The swimmer was in Sin City during Harry's infamous wild weekend when Harry challenged him to a swimming race in the pool at the Wynn resort late one night. Of course, Harry lost. Lochte has since posed his own challenge to Harry to "something on [Harry's] turf" the next time Lochte is in the U.K. Then, during an interview with "Today" on Thursday, Lochte revealed that he was glad he wasn't asked to party with his new pal the night the infamous photos were taken. "I'm kind of happy [he didn't invite me]," Lochte said. "I don't need that."
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