Harry laps up attention

LONDON - Prince Harry, who has gained a reputation as a royal "wild child", hit the headlines again with reports he visited a lap-dancing club.

Harry, third in line to the throne, visited the Spearmint Rhino club at Colnbrook, west of London, with friends on Saturday to celebrate the end of his Army officer training at the elite Sandhurst military academy.

The Sun newspaper - in a front-page story headlined "Dirty Harry" - said the Prince, 21, and his friends swigged lager and ogled topless girls.

The Daily Mirror said Harry "sat with a stripper on his lap" after arriving at the club at 3am.

Prince Charles' office declined comment.

Harry has courted controversy before with his behaviour.

He apologised in January last year after wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party and he has previously admitted smoking cannabis and underage drinking.

The latest reported escapade comes a few days before Harry will march in the traditional passing-out parade at Sandhurst in front of the Queen.

Some royal pundits rallied to Harry's defence.

"It's a pretty tough course [at Sandhurst] and they were celebrating, just having a nice time," novelist Jilly Cooper, a friend of Charles and Camilla, told the BBC. "There's nothing wrong with going to a strip club, it's just a laugh, I think."

- REUTERS