How Harry's hash plays in America

It's not often that I open the News of the World and find material for my newspaper. For some reason, the editors back in Washington don't generally get excited about "I Shagged 6 Man U Hunks" and similar NoW splashes. But this Sunday, when I saw the headline "Harry's Drug Shame - p2,3,4,5,6,7", I knew I had a story.

As an American, I'm happy my country doesn't have a monarchy. But as a London correspondent who sometimes needs a story on a sleepy Sunday morning, I'm sure glad the British do. For Americans, just as for the Brits, the Royals are a regular source of entertainment.

Not that we cover these stories the same way. The British press switched into full-scale wretched-excess mode for the Prince Harry revelation; I particularly admired the way four different papers each managed to label their stories "Exclusive!"

American papers were more relaxed, and focused on two points. First, we marvelled at the press coverage, wondering why a 16-year-old boy experimenting with alcohol and marijuana should be front-page news. Second, we were fascinated with the idea that Prince Charles sent his son to a rehab clinic to scare him away from drugs.

American reporters here rarely get access to Charles; that may help explain his rotten press in the US. In my country, the heir to the British throne is known either as the rat who broke the heart of a beloved princess, or as a luddite who talks to his carrot plants and won't let Britain import perfectly safe genetic hybrids from American farms. At first blush, Harry's drug problem didn't look that promising for Charles, either; the boy got in trouble partly because the father was never home with him.

But the media types at St James's Palace did a skilful job of turning Charles, the absent father, into Charles, the concerned and creative parent. I was surprised at first that the people at the Featherstone Lodge clinic were willing to talk about Harry's visit. On second thoughts, I assume this was all part of a well-coordinated response by the Prince's press office.

Charles also benefited from timing. The first wire-service reports on the "Harry's drugs shame" story moved Sunday morning, before most US editors had arrived at work. In mid-afternoon, the wires filed updates, mostly using Tony Blair's Sunday morning remarks in praise of Charles. Since editors often use the latest wire story they've got, many US papers led the story with Charles the Good Father rather than Harry the Wayward Prince.

For the US papers, though, Harry's wild summer was more a media story than anything else. It demonstrated once again the basic bargain involved in being a British royal these days. Just for being born right, you get the lavish palace, the long yacht, and the loyal retainers. In return, your foibles fill the tabloids on sleepy Sunday mornings.

TR Reid is London bureau chief of the Washington Post.