PRINCE HARRY 'SENT TO DRUGS CLINIC'

Harry Reportedly Admitted To A Serious Drink Problem

Prince Harry was sent to a drugs rehabilitation clinic after he admitted to
regularly smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol, it has been reported.

Prince Charles took the decision after finding out that the prince, who is
now 17, had taken drugs at Highgrove private parties and drank alcohol at a
local pub, according to the News of the World.

The BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the Palace had not
denied the reports.

A spokesman for St James's Palace said: "This is a serious matter which was
resolved within the family, and is now in the past and closed."

It is suggested that Prince Harry admitted using soft drugs and having an
alcohol problem to his father last year.

As a result the Prince of Wales arranged for him to attend Featherstone
Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in Peckham, south London, for a day. During the
visit he met heroin addicts.

The News of the World [NoW] said the story had been done with the full
co-operation and knowledge of Prince Charles.

The paper's royal editor, Clive Goodman, told BBC News 24: "It is a matter
very firmly in the public interest and is something we have been working on
with St James's Palace all week.

Sympathy

"His father thought he would benefit from a short, sharp, shock at a
rehabilitation centre.

"Prince Charles had a conversation with his younger son, which every parent
in Britain must dread having with their own children, where Harry confessed
to taking cannabis and drinking heavily and wanting to do something about it.

"There is tremendous sympathy for Charles. He has done a fantastic job
putting his son back on the straight-and-narrow, as has his brother Prince
William."

The BBC's Nicholas Witchell said a statement from St James's Palace in
response to the report did not go into details but did acknowledge the
central allegation about the use of soft drugs and alcohol abuse.

After-Hours Drinking

He said: "Prince Charles will have taken a firm line on this, as will the
authorities at Eton. His family will be watching to make sure there is no
resumption of this behaviour," he said.

He added that the Prince's reported confession followed concern within the
Royal Family that both Prince Harry and Prince William had friends who had
admitted to drug use.

The Mail on Sunday is also reporting that the Prince Harry was at the
centre of a police investigation into after-hours drinking at a pub near
Highgrove.

The inquiry began after the prince was involved in a mock fight during a
late night pool playing session, the paper reported.

It alleges that he verbally abused a French employee and was ordered to
leave the premises.