VIENNA (AFP) - A Facebook user posing as Britain's Prince Harry conned an Austrian floor layer out of nearly 30,000 euros (S$52,816) after pretending to hire him for renovation work at Buckingham Palace, police said on Saturday.

The fake prince offered the workman a million-euro contract to renovate the parquet floors at the palace in the British capital.

But the Austrian contacted police after he sent 27,500 euros to cover the cost of setting up a business in Britain, but received no contract.

Police informed him the chances of getting his money back were slim.