A British tabloid is revelling in the racy reports of Prince Harry's late-night romp in Calgary last week, describing in detail how the young royal was "slobbering all over girls in a sleazy club."

The details, accompanied by pictures of Harry being kissed by two women, were outlined Sunday in News of the World, a weekly publication that thrives on stories of celebrity drug abuse, plastic surgery and lurid affairs.

A day after the story emerged, the Royal Family was fighting back. The Sun, another British tabloid, ran a story Monday that quoted an unnamed senior palace source coming to the 22-year-old prince's defence.

"Harry, just like any member of the British army, is upset by the suggestion that by enjoying a night out with colleagues he is showing a lack of respect," the source said.

"Does this mean everyone in the army should be teetotal and avoid going out?"

The Prince Harry described in the News of the World story is hardly a teetotaller.

The tabloid said he was "slugging back the booze" early Thursday morning at the nightclub Cowboys, drinking a mix of beer, sambuca, and rum and coke.

Harry, a British army officer who is third in line for the throne, is in Alberta this month to train at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, near Medicine Hat.

During his night out, he apparently flirted with several of the "scantily-clad" waitresses at the bar, according to the tabloid, but was particularly forward with one — Cherie Cymbalisty, 22.

Harry reportedly asked her if she was wearing underwear, asked to see her tattoos and asked her to change out of her bra top and into another, Cymbalisty told the tabloid.

According to Canada's Sun Media, she was paid for her interview with News of the World.

Her account in the British tabloid is far different from the story she told Canadian reporters last week, when she described Harry as a polite, nice "prince charming."

Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth and son of Prince Charles, has been fodder for British tabloids before.

The publications have outlined stories of his alleged marijuana use, underage drinking and an early morning fight with a photographer outside a London nightclub.

In 2005, he made headlines for wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party.

With files from the Canadian Press