Was he whisked home for acting rowdy? Spirited out of harm’s way? Or did he merely hurt his… Was he whisked home for acting rowdy? Spirited out of harm’s way? Or did he merely hurt his knee?

Amid rumors of a plot to kidnap Prince Harry and reports that he had been ditching his bodyguards to go drinking, the 20-year-old royal returned Friday to Britain from Argentina, where he had been working at a polo-pony ranch during his “gap year” before entering Sandhurst Military Academy in January.

The ginger-haired, high-spirited second son of Prince Charles made no comment to reporters when he arrived at Heathrow Airport two days after gunfire was heard at the ranch outside Buenos Aires. Citing an Argentine newspaper, the Times of London reported that police fired into the air after detectives suspected kidnappers were near the ranch.

Local authorities blamed the shots on poachers, but a tabloid told a darker tale of a plot to kidnap the prince during one of his frequent visits to a bar near the ranch. The local media had reported that the rowdy prince was getting drunk and causing problems, and that police had complained to the British Embassy.

All such nastiness was denied by a representative of the royal family, who said that stories about the prince behaving inappropriately were “not true,” and that Harry’s stay was cut short by a knee injury. Last month, the wild child punched a photographer outside a London nightclub.

NAUGURATION REPORT

The Washington Hilton and the Hay-Adams are booked solid for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, but the Washington Times reports that the Jefferson, where premium suites go for $4,500 a day, may still have something _ the rooms Billy Joel canceled when President Bush was reelected. (Joel, like many in the entertainment industry, backed Democratic Sen. John Kerry).

No word yet on whether Bush supporters Faith Hill and Kid Rock will entertain during the five days of frenzied partying before the big event, but the Gatlin Brothers are confirmed for the Maryland Ball. New York designers Badgley Mischka, whose beaded dresses sell for $10,000 and up, are stitching Laura Bush’s gown, as Washingtonians brace for a parade of folks with big hair, bigger jewels, cowboy boots and full-length minks. Lots of moolah will be on display, but not a lot of buzz-worthy celebs.

WORST OF THE BAD

Who cares if it once was the world’s most popular TV series, running for 12 years and watched by a billion viewers in 140 countries? So what if it made international stars of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson? “Baywatch” has been named the worst U.S. television import into Britain.

Others in the shame-on-America lineup announced this week in London by Broadcast magazine include “The Anna Nicole Show,” “The Jerry Springer Show” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The mag polled about 20 TV program-buyers, who also named their choices for most influential American shows, topped by “The Simpsons” and including “24,” “Star Trek” and “I Love Lucy.”

CAMERON BACK ON LAND

“Titanic” director James Cameron has spent much of the last seven years underwater, making Imax documentaries about diving to the wreckage of the Titanic (“Ghosts of the Abyss”) and other explorations (the coming “Aliens of the Deep”). But the director of the first two “Terminators” is about to return to his first love, science fiction.

Cameron is coming up for air to make “Battle Angel,” set in the 26th century. “It’s based on a series of graphic novels done by a Japanese artist called Kishiro,” Cameron, 50, told The Associated Press. He would not discuss casting, but said the film would include real and computer-generated actors.

FRISKING EVITA

Actress-singer Patti LuPone isn’t the first female airline passenger to complain about the humiliation of recently instituted security pat-downs at airports. But among the frisked, LuPone is the only one to have starred in “Evita” on Broadway, so when she griped to the media, she got invited on TV to repeat her tale of woe.

“I took off my belt, I took off my clogs, I took off my leather jacket” while waiting to board a plane earlier this month, LuPone said. “But when the screener said, `Now take off your shirt,’ I hesitated. I said, `But I’ll be exposed!”’ LuPone said she was ordered to strip down to a see-through camisole in full view of other passengers.

Then she was searched by a screener she described as “all over me with her hands.” When she complained about that, she was barred from her flight, LuPone said.

The pat-downs went into effect Sept. 22, after officials said they suspected that women wearing explosives belts were responsible for the downings of two Russian airliners.

A Transportation Security Administration representative said that 10 percent to 15 percent of passengers were chosen for such “secondary screenings” and that “screeners are still adjusting to this new process.”

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(Wire services contributed to this report.)

(c) 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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