The Sun defends the decision to publish the pictures, calling it ludicrous that the photos can't be seen on the U.K. papers when they're already spread across the globe via internet.
- August 24, 2012
AceShowbiz -
The Sun rebelled against the demand from the royal family not to publish the naked pictures of Prince Harry. After thinking "long and hard about this," the U.K. big publication decided to put the photos taken from his Las Vegas vacation on its front page on Friday, August 24.
One of the pictures sees Harry standing buck naked in his VIP suite while cupping his private parts with a nude woman behind him. Another features the third-in-line to the throne bear-hugging a naked female near a pool table.
"This is about the ludicrous situation where a picture can be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the world on the Internet but can't be seen in the nation's favorite paper read by eight million people every day," explained David Dinsmore, managing editor of the Sun.
"This is about our readers getting involved in the discussion with the man who is third in line to the throne - it's as simple as that," he continued. The magazine previously re-enacted the scene inside Prince Harry's hotel room by capturing its reporter standing naked in a similar situation.
St. James's Palace itself said, "We have made our views on Prince Harry's privacy known. Newspapers regulate themselves, so the publication of the photographs is ultimately a decision for editors to make. We have no further comment to make either on the publication of the photographs or on the story itself concerning Prince Harry's private holiday in Las Vegas."
In its rebuttal, The Sun stated, "The prince was in Vegas, the party capital of a country with strong freedom-of-speech laws, frolicking in the pool before inviting strangers to his hotel room for a game of strip billiards. These are hardly the acts of a man jealously guarding his privacy."
The magazine additionally argued, "There is a clear public interest in publishing the Harry pictures, in order for the debate around them to be fully informed. The photos have potential implications for the prince's image representing Britain around the world. There are questions over his security during the Las Vegas holiday. Questions as to whether his position in the Army might be affected."
