Prince Harry not to pursue naked photos complaint

Prince Harry, who complained to Britain's press watchdog after his nude photographs cavorting with friends on a holiday in Las Vegas were published recently, had decided not to pursue the matter further.

27-year-old Harry, the third-in-line to the throne, is an Apache pilot. He is currently deployed in Afghanistan.

A spokeswoman for St James's Palace said: "Having considered the matter now for a number of weeks, we have decided not to pursue a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) on behalf of Prince Harry in respect of the photos of the Prince taken in Las Vegas".

"We remain of the opinion that a hotel room is a private space where its occupants would have a reasonable expectation of privacy", she said.

Since Prince Harry was "focused entirely on his deployment in Afghanistan", pursuing a complaint relating to his private life "would not be appropriate at this time and would prove to be a distraction", the spokeswoman added.

The photos, first published by TMZ, a US-based website, were later published in the UK by The Sun tabloid.

The photos are believed to have been taken on a camera phone.

The PCC has received more than 850 complaints about The Sun's publication of Harry's nude photos, media reports said.