Friends quickly rallied round Prince Harry amid the furore of his night in Las Vegas. One of these is Cressida Bonas, the aristocratic beauty that has been a feature of his social life for the past few months. Contrary to claims that she was fuming about revealing pictures of him partying with bikini-clad girls, the socialite is relaxed about the high jinks, reports the Daily Mail.
Cressida, the daughter of Sixties pin-up Lady Mary-Gaye Curzon, "knew about the Vegas trip and that he was going out there for a blow-out. She is not too fazed about events," a source tells the paper. Apparently they have been seeing each other discreetly since May. She is an obvious companion for the Prince. Apart from being a lively blonde in the mould of his past loves Chelsy Davy and Florence Brudenell-Bruce, she is friends with his cousin Princess Eugenie. And her half-sister Isabella Calthorpe is engaged to Richard Branson's son Sam. Indeed Cressida, 23, joined the soldier-Prince on Necker Island, the Branson family's Caribbean retreat to celebrate Sam's birthday just before the jaunt to Sin City.
Commentators have pointed out that the holiday was Harry's way of letting off steam before a possible deployment to Afghanistan. A military group has been created on Facebook, carrying pictures of naked army personnel and their wives and girlfriends supporting the Queen's grandson.
Called 'Support Prince Harry With A Naked Salute', it carries photos of soldiers in their birthday suits, covering their modesty with their hands, strategically placed guns or military equipment. So far over 20,000 people have joined the group.
Former soldier Jordan Wylie, who founded the Facebook group, said: "It was outrageous Harry was criticised for his antics in Las Vegas because he is just one of the lads. "He might be a Royal but he is also a hardworking Apache helicopter pilot and he wants to have some fun."