Prince Harry's wild side

Harry, the 27-year-old grandson of Queen Elizabeth, younger brother to Prince William and third in line to the throne, has proved time and again that he has a wild side!

But in recent years Harry has shed much of that image. He served in the army in Afghanistan four years ago and has spoken of his desire to return to frontline action.

Earlier this month he was watched by hundreds of millions around the globe standing in for the queen while the national anthem was sung at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.

He has been at the forefront of a rebranding of the British monarchy which has cast senior royals as modern and relevant, a far cry from the perception of a hopelessly out-of-touch institution following the 1997 death of Diana.

He recently embarked on a highly successful solo royal tour of the Caribbean and Brazil as part of celebrations for the queen's 60th anniversary on the throne. The prince appeared on the front pages on British newspapers on Wednesday - before news of the naked pictures - for racing with gold medal winning U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte in Las Vegas swimming pool.

The media has been enthralled by the love life of the single prince, whose elder brother William married last year in a ceremony that attracted huge global interest.

Daily Telegraph columnist Harry Mount said the prince needed to be more careful, but had not actually done anything wrong.

"I don't imagine the pictures will do his public image much harm," he wrote. "His bad boy naughtiness is his charm. He's the naughty playboy Prince Hal, while his quiet brother does all the boring, ruling stuff." (Text - Reuters)