Prince Harry's Fans Harassed for Secrets on 'Spike Wells' Facebook Account?
Correction appended
A week after photos emerged of Prince Harry romping in the nude with naked women at a Las Vegas hotel, it appears the British royal has suspended his Facebook account. Diehard fans of the 27-year-old monarch have been facing a barrage of questions from journalists as a result of the news.
Prince Harry reportedly temporarily shutdown a Facebook account he has been using for four years under the name "Spike Wells," based on his nickname. The news came Monday amid reports of continued fallout over images that were published on the Internet last week showing Prince William's young brother in the buff.
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In addition to temporarily suspending his account, friends of the red hair royal have also momentarily put their accounts on the social network on lock.
It was reported by fans of Harry that Arthur Landon and Tom Inskip had followed the prince's lead by freezing their Facebook accounts. RadarOline described Landon and Inskip as Prince Harry's "confidantes." The pair were with the prince in Vegas and could be trying to avoid any more revealing images or incriminating comments from becoming public.
A fan of the British royal on Tumblr with the username "MrHarryWales" shared early Monday his observations of the Facebook accounts belonging to a few royals and their associates.
"Chelsy Davy has changed her facebook to timeline and she posted 2 cover photos that follow below," the fan noted, sharing the images.
"And for some weird reason the button to send her a message is available to me… not that I'm going to send her anything but still.. that's pretty exciting. I found James Middleton Facebook account and his cover photo (of his timeline) looks a bit weird. Cressida Bonas has not changed her profile picture for a picture of her in [V]egas so I guess she didn't go. That's it guys," the Tumblr fan concluded.
As word spread of Prince Harry's social network account being frozen, fans online were hit with questions, apparently from journalists begging to know details about the royal's "Spike Wells" Facebook profile, on which he reportedly had 400 friends.
Another fan going by the name "VeryPrinceHarry" on Tumblr was also apparently hit with unwanted attention from members of the media, based on messages of consolation from admirers of the prince.
"Oh my God, those journalist's messages! 'Don't worry, I won't tell the world' lol. That's the point of journalism! To inform the public! Oh goodness...but I'm glad they're contacting you, someone who does their research, instead of a blog that just dislikes Harry. Hopefully they'll stop pestering you soon," the person wrote.
Another message of support read: "You should not listen to the hate coward people send you on anon. You didn't do anything wrong, you refused to help fans to find Harry's FB so why would help those despicable journalists!! People really need to think before insulting you, you only posted a few pictures to us, the fans, and if you wanted them to get to a journalist you could have sold the link a long time ago !! And to finish, I'd like to say that I really respect you for respecting his privacy."
"VeryPrinceHarry" is the online name for an English university student named Emma who just may be Prince Harry's number one fan. Her Tumblr account on the young prince is chock full of photos of he and his family from throughout the years, as well as comments from other fans of the British royal.
In addition to a "Spike Wells" Facebook account, there is also a protected "Spike Wells" Twitter account, which may or may not belong to the 27-year-old prince. It features a photo of Prince Harry and the bio line: "I am an ordinary guy with an extraordinary life."
Since the images were published online of Prince Harry in the buff, debate has raged as to whether the outgoing monarch had crossed the line. It was also reported that officials at Wynn Resorts in Vegas where Harry stayed were investigating his visit. The young prince's girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, has also reportedly called it quits, and his role in the military might possibly be affected as well.
Prince Harry's fans, which include members of the British military, have resoundingly come to his defense. A Facebook page was even launched to show support for Prince Harry, having attracted 9,9000 members as of Monday afternoon. The administrator of the page calls on fans to "support Prince Harry with a naked salute!" The images uploaded by fans have, predictably, followed the command to a tee.
Correction: Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012:
An article on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, about Prince Harry's Facebook account incorrectly identified Tumblr user "MrHarryWales" as the fan who may have leaked information, or broke the news, about the account's existence and it being temporarily suspended.
