Prince Harry Gropes, Makes Tabloid Cover

It's hard to be the prince, especially when you know you're not going to claim the throne (that will go to your older brother). You're out there, having fun, mixing it up and one thing leads to another. Before you know it, you're getting close with a female friend and your hand happens to find its way to her breast. It happens in clubs every night in every city. But, if you're the very tabloid-friendly Prince Harry, it also happens to get you on the front page of The Sun. In a recent cover photo Prince Harry can clearly be seen groping and kissing a female friend under the headline "Dirty Harry" and The Sun has defended publishing the photos claiming that there is "absolutely no question over their authenticity."

According to The Guardian, there has been some dispute over when the photos were taken, with some claiming they were three years old. Why would that matter? Well, Prince Harry wasn't dating Chelsy Davy three years ago, making the groping just dirty, not cheating and he has undergone a recent attempt to change his party image. There have also been claims that the photos were taken in a different nightclub than the one cited by The Sun, but that's of minor consequence.

A spokesman for The Sun claims everything is totally legitimate, all six photos, and told The Guardian, "We bought the photographs and negatives of our favourite playboy Prince which were taken in a popular London venue attended by members of the public. There is absolutely no question over their authenticity. Clarence House have informed us they have concerns over precisely when and in which nightclub the pictures were taken and we are discussing these matters with them."

However, The Australian spoke to a witness to a recent nightclub fling by Prince Harry and Prince William at Bouji's, where the couple supposedly drank and groped until 5am with a young female friend named Natalie Pinkham, who may be the breast in question on the cover of The Sun. The source told The Australian, "Harry was really going for it. He had been downing drinks all night and was touchy-feely with everyone - especially Natalie. He had his hands all over her and was kissing her on the face. At one point he reached his arm around her and gave her a proper grope on the breast. She was very shocked but didn't seem to mind in the slightest. I don't suppose it's every day an heir to the throne feels you up. He will probably be in big trouble with Chelsy now. She either hasn't seen him behave like this or she's the most understanding girlfriend in the world."

Prince Harry is no stranger to tabloid controversy. In fact, he's regular fodder for the British papers, having been photographed in a Nazi uniform that he was wearing to a Halloween party and having been snapped fighting with a photographer and rumored to be a pot-smoker. For some, the pot-smoking, fighting, and now, groping, may seem like bad PR, but it has actually endeared Prince Harry to many in England, showing him to be more of an average young man than a typical stuffy royal. ABC News quoted The Sun's royal correspondent Duncan Larcombe as saying, "Why shouldn't they unwind from Army duties with a night on the tiles? The alternative is to lock themselves away in castles as they become aloof from the outside world."

[Sources: The Sun, The Guardian, The Australian, ABC News]