Prince Harry had a game of strip-billiards in a Las Vegas hotel room and we got a glimpse, if not of the royal jewels, then a very regal bottom.
That act has raised important - and let's be honest - hilarious questions about Harry's role as a royal and the media's role as a purveyor of royal tittle-tattle.
Before we get to those questions, there are two small issues we need to get out of the way.
First, whoever heard of strip-billiards before this week? I called my buddy Toby, who has a pool table in his basement, and asked why we never even take off our socks when we play snooker.
We're obviously missing an important element of the game. Toby simply said, "I never want to see you naked," which means strip-billiards doesn't have a future in North Saanich.
Second, Harry is obviously useless at the game. After extensive and microscopic examination of the controversial pictures, it's obvious he's the only person in the room completely naked.
This is probably why they didn't have strip-billiards in the Olympics. Britain would have been dead last.
OK, to the main issues. First, Harry himself. He's a disgrace, right? Out of control? He undid all the good that his grandmother and grandfather did after they stood on a London barge on a cold, rainy London day this summer, winning our respect and admiration.
His grandmother even jumped out of a helicopter with James Bond.
Has Harry screwed up all that good royal public relations?
No. Harry's just fine. First, he's continuing a long tradition of royals acting disgracefully. His father dillydallied with his old girlfriend while still married to Princess Di. His aunt sucked the toes of a Texan. His royal ancestors had affairs with Nell Gwyn, and sired scores of illegitimate offspring.
He's not an heir, but a spare. The royal family is an entertainment, flitting from Shakespearean tragedy to history to comedy, and he's just an actor playing his part. Or showing off his parts. He's our Falstaff. And immensely enjoyable.
The Times got it exactly right in an editorial titled "The Prince's New Clothes" in which it stated it is a "testament to his sheer likability that Britain will most likely greet this latest, literal revelation with a grin and an indulgent shrug. If he's still naked at 50, things may be different."
The role of the media in all this has been under a different microscope, but only seriously in Britain. The rest of the world's media happily ran the pictures, taken with a mobile phone, that originally appeared on the entertainment website TMZ.
In Britain, lawyers for the royal family sent chilly letters to the media, warning them not to run the pictures because of the prince's privacy. All originally complied.
So we had this bizarre situation where the world's most tabloid-centric media weren't running the saucy pictures that were freely available on the Internet and in media around the globe.
This made sense in the shadow of the phone-hacking scandal that has consumed the British media for the past year. Eventually, The Sun broke ranks, citing public interest. There have been some complaints from the public. The Sun, which has a tradition of sticking up two fingers against the establishment, had previously had two young naked models re-enact the pictures.
Frankly, the Internet is the biggest game-changer here. Yes, there are certain things that the Internet will run that responsible media won't, but this isn't one of them. It's not princely porn. Just a royal bum.
We ran the footage at our news division without flinching. We're a long way away from London, and it's a legitimate news story. We ran happy footage of Harry running against Usain Bolt, of Harry as a military man, of Harry in the VIP seats at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
Harry partying in Las Vegas, letting off steam, helps paint the fuller portrait of the royals, beyond the carefully staged waving and smiling and wearing of nice hats.
Harry let his guard down. Once he started inviting a bevy of beauties - all perfect strangers armed with cellphones - to his hotel room and started stripping off in front of them, he abdicated (there's a regal term) all pretence of privacy.
He had his fun. We all had ours. No big drama. Keep your hat on.
