Palace livid over paparazzi 'endangering' Prince Harry

LONDON - Aides to the royal family have complained to the country's press watchdog that paparazzi put Prince Harry in danger by chasing after his car to snap photos of him on safari in Botswana.

Harry, 20, whose mother Princess Diana was killed in a high-speed Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by photographers, was on holiday with his South African girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Photos of the bandana-clad prince riding in an open-topped safari vehicle appeared in tabloid newspapers The Sun and The Daily Mail on Monday.

"There was a pursuit of Prince Harry's jeep along a rutted dirt track that involved dangerous driving which put the occupants of both Prince Harry's vehicle and the photographers' vehicle at risk of an accident," said a spokesman for Harry's father Prince Charles.

The Press Complaints Commission said palace aides had contacted it about the incident but had not filed a formal complaint.

Both newspapers denied their photographers had driven dangerously to snap the pictures.

It was the latest incident in Harry's sometimes fraught relations with photographers.

Six months ago, he scuffled with one outside a night club after being hit in the face with a camera and in January a picture of him wearing a Nazi outfit at a party caused outrage.

Harry is due to start officer training at military academy Sandhurst next month.

- REUTERS