http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991202/re/people_royals_1.html

Thursday December 2 11:11 AM ET

British Prince William's Hunting Sparks Concern

LONDON (Reuters) - Key British royal aides held a crisis meeting to discuss Prince William after he went fox-hunting on his day off from school, the Express
tabloid said Thursday.

Buckingham Palace is concerned about the lack of advice being given to the future heir to the British throne and held the meeting to discuss how to help him avoid
political minefields, the newspaper said.

Prince Charles's press office, which acts for the young prince, declined to comment on the report.

Prince William, 17, joined the Beaufort Hunt Monday on a day off from Eton, provoking a spate of bad publicity. The sport looks set to be banned by the
government and is opposed by most Britons, according to surveys.

Prince Charles was said to be surprised by the outcry that followed his own attendance at a drag hunt -- chasing a scented lure rather than an animal -- with his son
on the first day of the hunting season. He has since turned down an invitation to become president of a fox-hunting organization.

The latest controversy surrounding Prince William follows disapproving reports of the wealthy set he socializes with, particularly the flamboyant socialite Tara
Palmer-Tomkinson.

Palmer-Tomkinson, a self-confessed cocaine addict, pointedly told a recent edition of Tatler magazine that she had not slept with the prince -- in order, she said, to
dispel rumors.