Australia's finest red-faced over prince snaps

MELBOURNE, Mar 23 (Reuters) Australian police were embarrassed today after having to discipline an officer assigned to guard Prince Edward for taking unauthorised photographs of the British visitor's hotel suite.

Police said an officer assigned to a security detail for dignitaries at the Commonwealth Games had been seen during a routine security sweep taking photographs of the suite the prince will occupy until Monday.

The photographs were confiscated and destroyed.

''The member involved was stood down from Games duties and returned to normal duties,'' a police spokesman said.

Victoria state police commissioner Christine Nixon said another snap-happy female officer had also been disciplined for getting too close to Edward's mother, Queen Elizabeth, during her visit to open the Games last week.

''In both those cases, I think they are an error of judgment, and both those people are back in their own work and I think that's probably sufficient to deal with those matters,'' Nixon told reporters.

The current Commonwealth Games, held every four years, are being contested by 71 teams from across the grouping of mainly British former colonies.

REUTERS SK RK1130