Pubdate: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175 Author: Stephen Bates PRINCE PRAISED FOR STANCE ON HARRY'S DRUG USE The Prince of Wales won praise from the prime minister and drug support groups last night for his handling of cannabis smoking and over-drinking by his 17-year-old son Prince Harry. St James's Palace admitted that the prince had been spoken to by his father after the incidents at the family home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and a nearby pub during his school holidays from Eton last summer. He subsequently paid a day visit to a drugs rehabilitation unit in south London to speak to drug addicts. Tony Blair, whose eldest son Euan was once caught underage drinking, acknowledged it was a difficult situation, saying: "I know this myself." "I think the way that Prince Charles and the royal family have handled it is absolutely right and they have done it in a very responsible and, as you would expect, in a very sensitive way for their child," Mr Blair told BBC1's Breakfast With Frost. A terse statement from the palace said: "This is a serious matter which was resolved within the family and is now in the past and closed." It was alleged that the prince, whose father and elder brother Prince William were away at the time, frequented a local pub, the Rattlebone Inn in Sherston, where he got drunk and was once banned for calling the French chef "a fucking frog". He was also said to have invited friends back to Highgrove for further drinking and cannabis smoking sessions. It was the latter, in a converted basement called Club H, which apparently led to him being caught when staff smelled the whiff of cannabis. The prince's bodyguard at the time - who has not been named - is reportedly keeping his job, his role ostensibly to ensure Harry's safety, not to make moral judgments about his behaviour. Harry was 13 when his mother, Princess Diana, was killed, an event which is said to have deeply traumatised him. Some royal sources said yesterday that last summer's events were not the first time that he had been seen drinking under age or smoking and may not have been the last, despite the palace's statement. The prince is third in line to the throne but will go down the list if Prince William marries and has children. He will have to confront the problem other junior royals have faced: what to do with his life after he leaves school in 18 months' time. Prince Charles's apparently non-confrontational approach to the problem, which included arranging the visit to the Featherstone Lodge rehabilitation unit, won praise from drugs organisations. The prince is patron of several such groups and paid an official visit to Featherstone Lodge to see its work three years ago. Royal biographer Penny Junor said it had been widely known for some time by those associated with Prince Harry that he drank "a lot" under age. The director of the Press Complaints Commission, Guy Black, said the revelations did not mean the media were now free to intrude on Prince Harry's private life. But he added: "It is important to underline that this was an exceptional matter of public interest." Peter Martin, chief executive of Addaction, a drug and alcohol treatment agency, said: "It seems that the Prince of Wales has acted with deep sensitivity and very quickly, which is exactly what is needed." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth