Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Take Legal Action Over "Serial Intrusions" On Archie's Privacy
Prince Harry and Meghan have filed a lawsuit to “protect their young son’s right to privacy in their home,” claiming drones have been used to try to capture pictures of baby Archie. The couple’s lawyers filed a complaint for invasion of privacy on Thursday in the Superior Court of California against unnamed defendants as they do not know the identity of the people they are accusing. The documents allege there have been “relentless and quite frankly shocking efforts of the tabloid media to profit from serial intrusions on the privacy of a 14-month-old child in his own home.”
The couple’s attorney, Michael Kump of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLP, said in a statement:
“Every individual and family member in California is guaranteed by law the right to privacy in their home. No drones, helicopters or telephoto lenses can take away that right. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are filing this lawsuit to protect their young son’s right to privacy in their home without intrusion by photographers, and to uncover and stop those who seek to profit from these illegal actions.”
Harry, Meghan and Archie have been staying in Tyler Perry’s Beverley Hills mansion since moving to L.A. a few months ago. In this legal complaint, seen by T&C, they say they “lived peacefully” until the location was published, and then “within hours, paparazzi set up hundreds of yards away on the ridgetop overlooking the residence, hoping to capture photographs of the family.”
The complaint alleges:
“Some paparazzi and media outlets have flown drones a mere 20 feet above the house, as often as three times a day, to obtain photographs of the couple and their young son in their private residence (some of which have been sold and published). Others have flown helicopters above the backyard of the residence, as early as 5:30 a.m. and as late as 7:00 p.m., waking neighbors and their son, day after day. And still others have even cut holes in the security fence itself to peer through it.”
The complaint also claims that someone is "shopping photographs" of Archie, "falsely claiming to have taken them on a 'recent' public outing 'in Malibu,'” but that Archie has not been in public "since the family arrived here." The legal filing continues: “It is clear from a description of the photographs being shopped that they were taken of activities in the backyard of the residence, unbeknownst to the Plaintiffs.”
Since stepping down as working royals at the end of March, Harry and Meghan have appeared publicly in support of charities and organizations they care about. “The Plaintiffs simply want to continue the public impact work that is so important to them, while also having the private life to which any young family or individual has the right,” the lawsuit reads.
Members of the royal family have long sought to protect their privacy when in their own homes or going about there daily lives. In 2015, Prince William and Kate issued an open letter to the media to “inform the public discussion around the unauthorised photography of children.” In it they said there had been “an increasing number of incidents of paparazzi harassment of Prince George. And the tactics being used are increasingly dangerous.” A few months later it was reported that a no-fly zone was approved over their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, after concerns were raised over safety.
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