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Published 10:09 IST, July 24th 2020

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry sue paps for invasion of privacy over photos of son Archie

This action arises out of the relentless and shocking efforts of media to profit from serial intrusions of the privacy of a 14-month-old, the suit says.

Reported by: Tulip Roy
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Fed up with photographers deploying drones to capture images of them and their son, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly taking the paparazzi to task in court over a photo of Archie they claim was shot at their home in invasion of their privacy. Reports stated that one of the main reasons the royal couple had moved out of the U.K. was to escape the paparazzi but the attempt now seems to be unsuccessful. The royal couple has filed a suit to protect the right to privacy of their young son.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are currently residing in California with their 14-month old son Archie. According to reports, when the couple had moved to Canada, a famous U.K. media outlet published their exact location where they were residing; because of this reason they had moved to Los Angeles. However, the same media outlet had published their location again.

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The only difference is that this time the paparazzi used drones to get a glimpse of the royal family. Reportedly, a few media outlets started flying drones as close as 20 feet above their house and as often as many as three times a day. All these attempts were made to obtain pictures of the family and their young son. Furthermore, helicopters were being flown above their residence as early as 5:30 am and some at 7:00 pm. The paparazzi also were seen cutting holes in their security fence in an attempt to peep through it. 

“This action arises out of the relentless and quite frankly shocking efforts of the tabloid media to profit from serial intrusions of the privacy of a 14-month-old child in his own home, and the desire and responsibility of any parent to do what is necessary to protect their children from this manufactured feeding frenzy," the suit said.

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The royal couple didn't take any action against it at that point, but the harassment came to a head when they recently discovered that a picture of their son was being sold. Reports further revealed that the photo of Archie was being sold under the claims that it was purportedly taken on a family outing in Malibu while the associates of the royal couple refuted these claims as Archie has never been in public.

“Archie has not been in public, much less in Malibu, since the family arrived here,” the lawsuit says.

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Protecting their right to privacy 

A statement was issued on behalf of the royal couple which mentioned how each citizen and the family member was entitled to the right to privacy in their own homes in California. It added, no drones, helicopters, or telephoto lenses should be able to take that right away.  

(With inputs from AP)

Promo Pic Credit: Sussexroyal's Instagram 

Updated 10:09 IST, July 24th 2020