Prince Harry escapes drugs charges

Prince Harry: Visited drugs clinic

LONDON, England -- Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, will not face charges over allegations of under-age drinking and cannabis use, police have confirmed.

Wiltshire police said it had found no evidence that Prince Harry had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana when he was a 16-year-year-old schoolboy -- the legal drinking age in the UK is 18.

The allegations were made in the UK tabloid News of the World newspaper, which also reported his father Prince Charles had taken Harry to a drugs rehabilitation clinic to alert him to the dangers of drug abuse.

Royal officials have never denied the reports and the manager of the drugs centre Harry was said to have visited admitted the prince had attended.

On Friday a police spokeswoman said: "None of the inquiries revealed any involvement of Prince Harry or any members of his family. We now consider the matter closed."

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The newspaper reports of Prince Harry's experiments with alcohol and cannabis last summer was published in January.

After the incident Prince Charles sent his son -- then a student at Eton College -- to the Featherstone Lodge Rehabilitation Centre, in Peckham, south London.

Bill Puddicombe, chief executive of the group which runs the centre, confirmed to CNN that Prince Harry had made the visit and talked to recovering addicts.

After the media stories the queen issued a statement supporting the way Charles had handled Harry's behaviour, which was said to include drinking and drug-taking sessions at the Rattlebone Inn in Wiltshire, southwest England.

"The queen shares the Prince of Wales's views on the seriousness of Prince Harry's behaviour and supports the action which has been taken," the palace said in January.