Pictures show nude Prince Harry 'letting off steam'

Clarence House has confirmed the authenticity of photographs which show a naked Prince Harry cavorting with a woman during a party in a hotel room in Las Vegas.

The woman, whose body is mainly hidden by that of a red-headed man, is also nude.

A Royal source told ITV News: "Prince Harry was letting off steam over the weekend before he returns to the next phase of his military duties."

The two pictures were published by US celebrity website TMZ and seem to have been taken on a mobile phone, which would explain their blurry, grainy appearance.

In one picture, a nude Prince Harry is seen covering his genitals with his hands while a topless female hides behind him.

In a second image, Harry is hugging a nude woman from behind.

TMZ says these photographs are of the Prince during a "a game of strip billiards...in his VIP suite" at a Las Vegas hotel on Friday night.

The pictures emerged shortly after the New York Daily News published video which claimed to show Prince Harry in a pool in Las Vegas racing US gold medal-winning swimmer Ryan Lochte.

An appeal was made to the British media to respect the royal's privacy and not publish the pictures as they were taken during a private moment while Harry was on holiday.

However, Irish newspaper the Evening Herald did publish a naked picture of Harry on their front page.