Prince Harry Vegas Photos: Royal Family Bans UK Media From Posting Pics
In an effort to control the Prince Harry nude photo scandal, the royal family has hired a legal team to ban all UK media to publish the images.
Harbottle & Lewis, a London-based law firm sent legal letters to UK newspaper companies on Wednesday, Aug.22.
The memo states that publishing the nude photos would be in breach of a Press Complaints Commission Code. It is considered a policy violation because the photos were taken without Prince Harry's consent. He was away on vacation and attending a personal event. The PPC code states it is unacceptable to run personal photos of individuals with "reasonable expectation of privacy," unless it is in the public interest.
The memo also states that any company that features the photos would be banned from future media events featuring the royal family. A copy of the letter was sent to the PCC, a regulatory agency set up by the British newspaper industry to enforce actions that are necessary if the rule is broken.
"Of course, the British media is very careful when a royal scandal is revealed nowadays and has to bow down to the royal family's demands," a source told Radar Online.
"But despite the ban on the UK press, the pictures have already circulated around the world on the internet. Everyone has seen them, so Harry's blushes will never be spared -- not in this day and age," added the report.
British media outlets including The Daily Mail and The Mirror followed the order and published pictures of Prince Harry topless while attending the Vegas pool party over the weekend.
The Evening Herald ignored the ban and ran the infamous photo with the headline "The Naked Prince."
The Sun newspaper took comical approach and created a mockup of the hotel room photo of the 27-year-old covering his genitals by featuring two of their staff editors posed nude with a topless girl standing behind him. The male editor is wearing a similar necklace as the Prince.
According to several reports, Prince Harry invited a group of people to his three-bedroom suite at the Wynn and Encore Hotel after attending a pool party. The hotel room party became more raucous, and during a game of strip billiards, the 27-year-old was photographed hugging a naked young woman from behind as she is holding a pool cue =. In another photograph, Harry is covering up his genitals with his hands while only wearing his watch and a thin necklace. Both photos were taken on a mobile phone and sold for approximately $14,000, according to The Telegraph.
TMZ published Prince Harry's nude photos on Tuesday, Aug.21. The royal family has since then confirmed it indeed is the prince in the photos.
