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Prince George 'being harassed by paparazzi' | Prince George 'being harassed by paparazzi' |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Paparazzi harassment of Prince George has increased and photographers' tactics are becoming increasingly dangerous, Kensington Palace has said. | |
The palace has issued an appeal to world media not to publish unauthorised images of the two-year-old, who is third in line to the throne. | |
Some paparazzi had gone to "extreme lengths" to take pictures and "a line has been crossed", the palace said. | |
It wants to "inform discussion" on unauthorised photography of children. | |
The palace said a small number of media organisations, mostly in Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand and the US, had published photos of Prince George in "unacceptable circumstances". | The palace said a small number of media organisations, mostly in Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand and the US, had published photos of Prince George in "unacceptable circumstances". |
However it said the "vast majority", and all UK publications, had refused. | However it said the "vast majority", and all UK publications, had refused. |
'Number one target' | |
The palace says in recent months, photographers have: | |
It said the most recent incident, which was last week, involved a photographer who was discovered by police lying down in the boot of a rented car attempting to shoot photos outside a children's play area. | It said the most recent incident, which was last week, involved a photographer who was discovered by police lying down in the boot of a rented car attempting to shoot photos outside a children's play area. |
Kensington Palace tweeted: "The Duke and Duchess want to extend their thanks for the kind and supportive messages they have received in recent months. | Kensington Palace tweeted: "The Duke and Duchess want to extend their thanks for the kind and supportive messages they have received in recent months. |
"They have been delighted to share photos of their children and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead. | "They have been delighted to share photos of their children and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead. |
"Yet undercover paparazzi continue to pursue their children, selling images of Prince George to international publications." | "Yet undercover paparazzi continue to pursue their children, selling images of Prince George to international publications." |
In the published letter, Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf said the prince had become the paparazzi's "number one target". | |
He said: "It is of course upsetting that such tactics - reminiscent as they are of past surveillance by groups intent on doing more than capturing images - are being deployed to profit from the image of a two-year-old boy. | |
"In a heightened security environment such tactics are a risk to all involved. | "In a heightened security environment such tactics are a risk to all involved. |
"The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm." | "The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm." |
'Dangerous presence' | |
Mr Knauf said the duke and duchess wanted Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte "to be free to play in public and semi-public spaces with other children without being photographed". | |
They want to give their children a childhood that is "free from harassment and surveillance", he said. | |
Paddy Harverson, former communications secretary to the Duke of Cambridge, said: "Just imagine if everywhere you went and when you took the children out to playgrounds, there were men carrying cameras, they were hiding. | |
"Often they don't know they're there until they see the photographs later in magazines, which are published abroad." | |
The BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the Royal Family was keen to emphasise it amounted to "intruding on the privacy of a two-year-old" and using a two-year-old to make "a large amount of money". | |
But he said the issue was a "very difficult area of law" as it was unclear "what the law would say about the behaviour of these photographers". |