Embarrassing pictures showing Prince Harry and a young woman naked in a hotel room have been published on the internet.

The images of the royal were taken in Las Vegas where the third in line to the throne was enjoying a private break over the weekend.

In the first photograph, Harry is shown wearing just a necklace and a wristband with his hands around his genitals as a seemingly topless woman stands close behind him.

The nude prince is shown in another picture shielding himself behind an unknown woman who is also naked.

The images were published by celebrity gossip website TMZ, which said they were taken last Friday.

The website claims that the pictures came after the prince and his entourage met some women in a hotel bar and invited them up to the royal's suite.

The group played a stripping game and someone in the party is thought to have captured the image of the naked prince on a camera phone.

St James's Palace confirmed it was Harry in the pictures but declined to comment further.

A source said the prince, an Army officer and Apache helicopter pilot, was just ''letting off steam'' before the next important phase of his military career.