YOUNG PRINCE ADMITS ALCOHOL, MARIJUANA USE

LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry, 17, was taken to visit a rehab center
after he admitted he had smoked marijuana and illegally drunk
alcoholic beverages, the first public embarrassment involving one of
Princess Diana's children since her death.

The story, broken by Sunday's News of the World tabloid under the
headline "Harry's Drug Shame," and all but confirmed by the royal
family, dominated British print and broadcast news reports all day.

It also led to widespread speculation about what it will mean for the
royal family and for Prince Harry, who could conceivably be expelled
from Eton, the prestigious private school.

Harry, then 16, drank with friends at a pub last summer and smoked
marijuana with friends, according to the media reports.

After learning of his son's drug use, Prince Charles sent Harry to a
drug rehabilitation center in south London for a day.

Harry - who was 12 when Diana died in a car accident in 1997 after
divorcing Charles - did not need therapy at Featherstone Lodge, but
spent the day talking to recovering addicts.