World News
British PM Backs William and Kate’s Warning over attempts to Photograph Prince George
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge attend the Gigaset Charity Polo Match
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LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron who himself is a devote father, has offered his support for the The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in trying to persuade foreign publications not to buy paparazzi images of toddler Prince George, arguing they have a right to raise their children free of such harassment.
Paparazzi taking pictures of Prince George hiding in the bushes
Cameron a father himself expressed concern Saturday for Prince William and his wife, Kate, because of the “extreme lengths” photographers have used to get images of the 2-year-old heir to the throne. He told the BBC the couple “deserve some privacy and some space.”
Kensington Palace, Prince William’s office, warned Friday that photographers are using increasingly dangerous tactics to get the valuable images. The palace says photographers have hidden in sand dunes and car trunks and used other children to draw Prince George into view on playgrounds.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have revealed.
The tactic is one of several “dangerous” and “distressing” methods detailed in an open letter published by the furious couple, warning that a line had been crossed.
The letter reveals that paparazzi also have been found hiding on private fields and woodland at the family’s Norfolk home, obscuring themselves in sand dunes to take photographs of Prince George playing and monitoring the movements of the toddler, his nanny and other staff around London parks.
It says that on one “disturbing but not at all uncommon” occasion, a photographer hid himself in a rented car near a children’s farm play area, hanging sheets in the windows and stockpiling enough food and drink to get him through a full day of surveillance. Police found the man lying down in the trunk of the vehicle attempting to shoot photographs with a long lens.
Royal insiders say Prince William in particular is desperate that “history should not repeat itself” and wants to protect both George and Princess Charlotte from the kind of intrusion that his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was subjected to.
The letter, sent to 24 worldwide media industry watchdog bodies, says it is clear that George has become the “No. 1 target” in the Royal Family for unscrupulous freelance photographers who sell their images abroad.
The letter thanks all British media organizations, and most of those in the Commonwealth and the U.S., for operating a policy of refusing to publish unauthorized photographs but said a “handful” of international organizations were still willing to pay.
