The Sun newspaper's decision to run photographs of a naked Prince Harry cavorting in his Las Vegas hotel room defied the royal family and prompted a flood of complaints, but some say the nude photos also had a message from proprietor Rupert Murdoch to Britain's establishment: I can still shake things up.
The top-selling tabloid framed the decision as a defense of press freedom, but some observers see it as a warning shot fired by Murdoch against British officialdom, which has largely turned its back on the Australian mogul’s scandal-tainted media empire.
The Independent on Sunday carried a front page story alleging that Murdoch personally ordered the paper to run the photos.
News International, the British newspaper unit of Murdoch’s News Corp., has declined to comment.
