There have been 3,600 complaints to the press watchdog about naked photographs of Prince Harry published in The Sun.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said they all came from members of the public and none from St James's Palace or any other representatives of the royal.

The tabloid became the first British newspaper to carry the pictures on Friday, arguing that the move was in the public interest and a "crucial" test of the country's free press.

prince harry

The naked pictures scandal has left Prince Harry red-faced...but who's to blame?

The pictures of him frolicking in the nude with an unnamed woman while on holiday in Las Vegas made headlines around the world but St James's Palace asked UK papers, via the PCC, to respect Harry's privacy.

Sun managing editor David Dinsmore said the paper had "thought long and hard" about whether to use the pictures and said it was an issue of freedom of the press rather than because it was moralising about Harry's actions.

Scroll down for more

SEE ALSO:

He told the BBC's Radio 5 Live The Sun did generally "fear" the PCC, but a decision had been made to publish the photos because of the public interest.

The decision provoked a mixed reaction both in and outside the media industry.

Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said the newspaper had shown "absolute utter contempt" for the law and the Leveson Inquiry.

He said: "It is not about privacy. It is about money, money, money. And they know that by exclusively printing the pictures, assuming they are the only (British) paper which does, they will get everybody buying the paper to see this."

In a Twitter exchange with Lord Prescott, Rupert Murdoch denied taking the decision to print the photographs.

"Decision was rightly that of the editor, and I support. I was in Silicon Valley far removed," he wrote.

Posting again later, Mr Murdoch wrote: "Simple equation: free, open uncontrollable internet versus shackled newspapers equals no newspapers. Let's get real."

Media lawyer Mark Stephens has speculated The Sun will become the “pariahs of Fleet Street” for its decision.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said he had a "deafening indifference" to the publication of the naked photos.

He told the BBC: "The real scandal would be if you went all the way to Las Vegas and you didn't misbehave in some trivial way.

See some pics of Prince Harry wearing clothes!

Loading Slideshow...
  • October 1991 at the World Cup in Wales

    Getty Photo

  • March 1994 on a ski trip to Austria

    Getty Photo

  • August 1995 at the V-J Day Celebrations with Diana

    Getty Photo

  • September 1995 at Eton College

    AP Image

  • January 1996 in Switzerland

    Getty Photo

  • November 1997 in South Africa

    AP Image

  • November 1997 at a Spice Girls Concert in South Africa

    AP Image

  • March 1998 on a visit to Vancouver

    Getty Photo

  • March 2002 in Switzerland

    AP Image

  • September 2002 at the English Premier League Soccer Club West Ham United

    AP Image

  • September 2003 at the Sydney's Taronga Zoo

    AP Image

  • July 2004 at the St. Jame's Palace Polo Day Charity Match in Tetbury, England

    Getty Photo

  • September 2004 playing rugby in Walsall, England

    Getty Photo

  • March 2005 at Prince Charles and Camilla's Wedding in Windsor, England

    AP Image

  • July 2005 at Cartier Cup at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park, England

    AP Image

  • July 2005 at a Polo Match in Cirencester, England

    Getty Photo

  • November 2005 training for the Army in England

    AP Image

  • May 2006 at the Annual Parade and Service of the Combined Cavarly 'Old Comrades' Association in London, England

    Getty Photo

  • April 2007 at the Cricket World Cup in Antigua

    AP Image

  • October 2007 at the Royal Navy's squadron in Portsmouth, England

    AP Image

  • January 2008 in Afghanistan

    AP Image

  • February 2008 playing rugby in Afghanistan

    AP Image

  • March 2008 returning from Afghanistan in Oxfordshire, southern England

    AP Image

  • May 2009 at a Children's School Dance in Harlem, New York

    AP Image

  • May 2009 at the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic Match

    AP Image

  • May 2010 with girlfriend Chelsy Davy at a graduation ceremony in Middle Wallop, England

    AP Image

  • June 2010 in combat simulation at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York

    AP Image

  • June 2010 in the remote village of Semongkong, Lesotho

    AP Image

  • June 2010 at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Match in New York

    AP Image

  • July 2010 at the Canine Partners Organization in Midhurst, United Kingdom

    Getty Photo

  • July 2010 at a Royal Wedding in Abergavenny, Wales

    Getty Photo

  • July 2010 at the Asprey World Class Cup in Ewhurst, United Kingdom

    Getty Photo

  • November 2010 at the Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance in Wootton Bassett, England

    AP Image

  • April 2011 at the Royal Wedding

    Getty Photo

  • April 2011 at the Royal Wedding

    AP Image

  • May 2011 in training for an expedition on an Island near the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole

    AP Image

  • June 2011 at the Founder's Day Parade in London, England

    Getty Photo

  • July 2011 at Zara Phillips & Mike Tindall's wedding

    Getty Photo

  • August 2011 after cousin Zara Phillip's wedding weekend

    PA Wire Photo

  • September 2011 at the BGC Partners' Charity Day in London, England

    Getty Photo

  • December 2011

    Getty photo

  • February 2012 visiting RAF Honington

    (Getty photo)

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Belize

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Belize

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to the Bahamas

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Jamaica

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Jamaica

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Jamaica

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Jamaica

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Brazil

    Getty photo

  • March 2012 during a royal visit to Brazil

    Getty photo