Harry’s Children Targeted by Paparazzi at School

Prince Harry’s spokesperson says photographers described as “certain European paparazzi” have been watching his children, Archie and Lilibet, at their new school in the English countryside. The photographers reportedly walked around the school perimeter, then stopped to look onto the grounds and monitor the children. The spokesperson called the conduct around a school “extraordinarily reckless” and said some European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect children’s privacy. The incident is the latest security concern for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they returned to Britain from California last month. The family is trying to keep the location of its new home and the children’s school private. Archie and Lilibet have already changed schools because traffic on the route to their previous school raised concerns for their security team. The article notes that British media have generally respected the family’s privacy since the move back. Harry has long blamed the press for the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed when the car she was travelling in crashed while its driver was speeding away from pursuing paparazzi. He has also compared the press’s treatment of his wife, Meghan Markle, with the treatment Diana experienced. Harry and Meghan left royal duties in 2020 and became private citizens. Although they have their own security team, they want the British government to provide automatic police protection, as it does for other senior royals. Harry’s brother, Prince William, has also faced European paparazzi and has won privacy cases against French magazines over photographs of his family taken when they were not on official duties. The brothers have been estranged since Harry’s departure from royal duties and subsequent public criticism of the royal family.

Prince Harry’s spokesperson said that “certain European paparazzi” had stalked Harry and Meghan’s children at their school in the English countryside. Photographers reportedly walked around the school perimeter, then stopped to look into the grounds and monitor the children. The spokesperson called the behavior an “extraordinarily reckless” invasion of the family’s privacy. The incident is the latest security concern since the family moved from California to Britain in August. Harry and Meghan have tried to keep both their new home and their children’s school location private. Their children had already changed schools after heavy traffic on the route to the first school raised concerns for the family’s security team. The article says the British press had generally respected the family’s privacy since their return, while the couple’s spokesperson singled out some European paparazzi as unwilling to respect children’s privacy at school. Harry has long been protective of his family’s privacy, linking his concerns to the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash while her driver was speeding away from pursuing paparazzi. Harry has also compared the press’s treatment of Meghan to the treatment his mother experienced. Although the couple have their own security team, they want the British government to provide automatic police protection, as it does for other senior royals. The report also notes that Harry’s brother, Prince William, has had similar encounters with European paparazzi and has won privacy cases against French magazines over photographs of his family taken when they were not on official duties. The brothers have been estranged since Harry left royal duties and later published a book and gave interviews criticizing the royal family.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s spokesperson says their children, Archie and Lilibet, were approached by photographers described as “certain European paparazzi” near their new school in the English countryside. The spokesperson called the photographers’ conduct “extraordinarily reckless,” saying they had been seen around the school perimeter, examining the grounds and watching students. The family has kept both its new home and the children’s school location private. The report says Harry, younger son of King Charles, returned to Britain last month with Meghan and their children, who are seven and five. The spokesperson said British media had shown restraint since the family’s return, while accusing some European photographers of intruding on children’s privacy. The family reportedly changed schools because security concerns grew as the road outside the previous school became too crowded. The incident is set against Harry’s longstanding criticism of press pursuit of his family. He has linked media behavior to circumstances surrounding the 1997 Paris car crash that killed his mother, Princess Diana, whose driver was being pursued by paparazzi. Harry and Meghan left their roles as working royals in 2020 and moved to the United States. They have private security and have been involved in a continuing dispute over access to publicly funded police protection in Britain. The article also notes that Harry’s older brother, Prince William, has faced unwanted photography involving his children and has taken legal action over photographs of family members. Relations between the brothers have been strained since Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals; Harry has discussed the rift in interviews and his memoir.