The SunIn the end, Prince Harry's privates didn't cause a battle royal.
The Press Complaints Commission, despite receiving roughly 3,800 complaints from apparently scandalized readers, will not be opening an investigation into The Sun's decision to publish leaked naked photos of the rambunctious royal in defiance of the palace's wishes.
And why won't there be a formal probe despite all those complaints?
Simply, because the royal family wasn't among the complainants.
The pics were of Harry (and parts of an as-yet-unidentified naked woman), and since the prince's camp hasn't formally taken issue with the Sun's Aug. 24 "Heir It Is!" cover, it would be "inappropriate" to open an investigation, according to the PCC.
Harry's office says they reserve the right to file a formal complaint in their "own time," should they so desire.
In explaining their decision to become what would ultimately be the only national newspaper to run the Prince Harry photos, which had already gone global thanks to TMZ and sites that grabbed the pics for themselves, The Sun's managing editor said they were big Harry fans, but it came down to freedom of the press.
"This is about our readers getting involved in the discussion about the man who's third in line to the throne," David Dinsmore said. "It's as simple as that."
Meanwhile, Harry's reps have moved on to a different level of damage control: denying the details from the purported tell-all interview that model Carrie Reichert gave to Britain's Mirror about making out with Prince William's little brother in his Vegas suite.
"Prince Harry has never met her," a Buckingham Palace rep told E! News.