Prince Harry pictured moments after photos of his naked Vegas romp hit the internet (but he's still got a hug for a mystery blonde)

This is Prince Harry just an hour after highly embarrassing photographs of him cavorting naked with strangers in a five-star Vegas hotel hit the internet.
Wearing a blue shirt, a cream-coloured panama hat and sunglasses, the sheepish prince was seen chatting with friends and hugging a mystery blonde in a Los Angeles car park yesterday.
Harry, 27, refused to comment when quizzed about the risqué snaps which were taken in a Vegas hotel suite on Friday night.

Sheepish: Prince Harry hugs a mystery blonde and appears to send a text on his mobile phone as he is spotted in a Los Angeles car park just an hour after naked pictures of him cavorting with strangers in a Las Vegas hotel emerged online 

Bashful: Wearing a blue shirt and cream-coloured panama hat, the prince appears far less confident than he did in the pictures of him in Las Vegas

Keeping quiet: Harry refused to comment when quizzed about the risqué snaps which were taken in a Vegas hotel suite on Friday night

A quick search on the internet service Pic Frog allows people to see the images that are 'banned' in the UK. In these pictures Harry has been circled and obscured

An identical search on Google images for 'Prince Harry naked pictures' reveals dozens more shots of the cavorting Prince

   
Facing questions from a reporter, the British Prince darted into the passenger seat of his waiting SUV and attempted to hide his face from view.
His six-strong security team also made efforts to keep Harry concealed and quickly drove him away in their convoy of three black Cadillac Escalades.
The sensational photos of Harry, which show him stripped naked and larking around with mystery girls appeared on celebrity news website TMZ.com at 4.45pm on Tuesday.
He was spotted in a car park in the Venice area of Los Angeles just an hour later.
While Harry’s friends and security team went in and out of trendy restaurant Gjelina, the Prince spent most of the time sitting in his car.
After a short while, he climbed out of the vehicle to chat to his group of friends and wave goodbye to them before heading to LA’s international airport and flying out of the United States.
He arrived back in Britain tonight to face a carpeting from Buckingham Palace after the Vegas photos emerged online.
The revealing shots were taken on a fellow reveller's mobile phone in the VIP suite at the five-star Wynn Hotel after the third-in-line to the throne invited a group of strangers back to play 'strip billiards'.

Living it up: American website TMZ, who have published the Vegas pictures, say the 'raucous party' happened after the prince and his friends made friends with 'a bunch of hot chicks'

Keeping out of sight: While Harry's friends and security team went in and out of trendy restaurant Gjelina, the Prince spent most of the time sitting in his car

Affection: The Vegas photos of Harry, which show him stripped naked and larking around with mystery girls appeared on a celebrity news website at 4.45pm on Tuesday

Fun and frolics: Prince Harry affords a smile as he hugs another blonde shortly before heading to LA's international airport to fly back to Britain

Up close and personal: A source close to the prince, pictured here hugging a female acquaintance, says his exuberance is 'just the way he lets off steam'

Fond farewells: Shortly after arriving in the car park, Harry climbed out of his vehicle to chat to his group of friends and wave goodbye to them before leaving the U.S.

Wearing nothing but a distinctive necklace, the prince is seen giving a topless girl a 'bear-hug', his bare bottom facing the camera. In another shot he uses his hands to protect his modesty while his brunette companion uses his nude body to shield hers.
Back in the UK, the Prince’s staff at Clarence House launched a belated attempt at damage limitation.

 

Officials contacted the Press Complaints Commission to request that the British press refrained from running images which are widely available across the world and easily viewable in the UK.

It is understood that the Prince’s staff has spent the day locked in meetings about how best to handle the scandal as he flew back to Britain to resume his military duties following his 10-day break.
The images raise difficult questions about both Harry’s judgement to indulge in the sort of wild ‘laddish’ behaviour that has brought the royal family into global disrepute.

Down in the dumps: Harry perches next to a bin. The revealing shots from Vegas were taken on a fellow reveller's mobile phone in the VIP suite at the five-star Wynn Hotel after the third-in-line to the throne invited a group of strangers back to play 'strip billiards'

Oops: The latest incident to involve the party-loving prince has come as a huge disappointment to palace advisors who had been buoyed by Harry's growing maturity

And there are also questions about the whereabouts and behaviour of his taxpayer-funded protection officers who are assigned to him at all times.
At least three accompanied him on the trip. They were travelling on an all-expenses-paid basis as part of the Met's £120million-a-year royal protection squad.
It is unclear why they did not advise Harry against taking part in the strip billiards game, why they did not stop his companions taking photographs and if the prince was vulnerable because they were not keeping watch.
The situation is also hugely embarrassing to the Royal family who have been desperately trying to cultivate a more grown-up image for the Prince, who turns 28 next month.
Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the pictures, so it is unclear what the Queen thinks of her grandson's exploits.
However senior royal sources made clear to MailOnline that the prince was in his hotel suite on a private holiday and had expected a 'reasonable degree of privacy.'

Animated: The 27-year-old chatted with friends and was also joined by a six-strong security team who made attempts to keep the prince concealed from view

Calm before the storm: The third in line to throne hid behind his Aviator sunglasses as he strolled through Los Angeles before returning to the UK, where he faces a carpeting from Buckingham Palace

Another source close to the prince added: ‘Harry has always been exuberant and it's just the way he lets off steam.'
He could face a meeting with his Army superiors when he returns later today. Their rules state that 'social misbehaviour' is not acceptable, especially if it tarnishes the reputation of Britain's armed forces.
Any protestations are, however, unlikely to cut much ice with members of the public, shocked by the prince’s apparent lack of caution.
It is understood that the revellers present were members of the public the prince had met on his trip to Sin City and invited back to his room to ‘continue the party’.
American website TMZ, who have published the pictures, say the 'raucous party' happened after the prince and his friends made friends with 'a bunch of hot chicks'.

Damage limitation: It is understood that the Prince's staff has spent the day locked in meetings about how best to handle the scandal as he flew back to Britain to resume his military duties following his 10-day break

A right royal mess: The images raise difficult questions about both Harry's judgement to indulge in the sort of wild 'laddish' behaviour that has brought the royal family into global disrepute

Dressing down on the cards: He could face a meeting with his Army superiors as their rules state that 'social misbehaviour' is not acceptable, especially if it tarnishes the reputation of Britain's armed forces

Tarnished image: Any protestations from Harry are unlikely to cut much ice with members of the public, who have been shocked by the prince's apparent lack of caution

Bemused: Something draws the prince's gaze. It is unclear why the Metropolitan Police protection officers did not advise Harry against taking part in the strip billiards game in Vegas

The group then went back to his huge suite, with a pool table, and they decided to play a strip version of the game which quickly ended in full nudity for Harry and at least one other mystery woman.
Harry checked into the suite at the five-star Wynn hotel and casino last week for some ‘full-on partying’, as the prince told one fellow guest.
The room has its own butler, games room including a pool table and private driveway. 
The scandal also makes a mockery of his British tax-payer funded, round-the-clock, police protection team. 
But the Met told MailOnline they would not comment on the pictures.
Former head of royal protection officer at the Met, Dai Davies, admitted it could be difficult to keep a handle on Harry, who he described as a 'lovely man' but 'a nightmare' to control sometimes.

Crisis: The situation is hugely embarrassing to the Royals, who have been desperately trying to cultivate a more grown-up image for the Prince, who turns 28 next month

One will not be amused: Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the pictures, so it is unclear what the Queen thinks of her grandson's exploits

'We're paying huge amounts of money for this young man to be followed everywhere he goes by security,' he told the Telegraph.
'He's a young man with lots of testosterone but there is a balance and occasionally that balance slips.'
The latest incident to involve the party-loving prince has come as a huge disappointment to palace advisers who had been buoyed by Harry’s growing maturity.
Earlier this year the prince, undertook his first official foreign tour on behalf of the Queen and charmed statesmen and members of the public alike from The Bahamas to Brazil.
The trip was deemed such a success that there was already talk of another trip next year if his military commitments permitted.
As a result the prince was also given several major roles at the London Olympics – including a position as official Team GB Ambassador and standing in for the Queen at the high-profile closing ceremony.

Legitimate gripes: The pictures also raise questions about the whereabouts and behaviour of Harry's taxpayer-funded protection officers assigned to him at all times

Questions to answer: The scandal has made a mockery of his police protection team, but the Met told MailOnline they would not comment on the Vegas pictures

He has also won plaudits for his support of injured servicemen and women and even took part in a televised fund-raising trek to the North Pole on their behalf.
With his grandfather, Prince Philip, recently hospitalised for the third time in just eight months - putting even more pressure on the younger members of the family to take on royal duties - it will be difficult for St James’s Palace to shrug this off as mere high jinks.

It came as several stories about the Prince's trip to Vegas emerged since he arrived last week, including several other images of him partying with his top off.
Harry even challenged swimming ace Ryan Lochte to a race after bumping into him in the VIP section of the Wynn Hotel’s XS nightclub in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Lochte, who was in Las Vegas celebrating his 28th birthday, told the Mail in a statement: ‘It was really fun swimming against Prince Harry. He’s a great guy, and it was a huge honor [sic] to meet him.

Handful: Former head of royal protection officer at the Met, Dai Davies, admitted it could be difficult to keep a handle on Harry, who he described as a 'lovely man' but 'a nightmare' to control sometimes

Thoughtful: With his grandfather, Prince Philip, recently hospitalised for the third time in just eight months, it will be difficult for St James's Palace to shrug this off as mere high jinks

‘I was surprised that he challenged me actually. I didn’t know if he had any skills in the pool, but I definitely wasn’t going to take it easy on him! 
‘He was a great competitor but in the end it was Team USA all the way to the wall!!  Next time I’m in the UK it’d be fun to challenge him to something on his own turf.’
Harry even managed to beat Usain Bolt in a 20-yard dash earlier this year – by distracting him at the start.
And earlier that day, Harry had found himself surrounded by a gaggle of ladies who had made a bee-line for Las Vegas’s Encore Beach Club as news spread that the playboy prince was in town.
The prince had been filmed enjoying the poolside entertainment at the MGM Grand hotel and throwing a lingering glance towards one of the stunning bikini-clad women by a camera from television station 'Extra'.

Letting his heir down: Prince Harry relaxes poolside at the MGM Grand's Wet Republic surrounded by bikini-clad girls in Las Vegas