Sussexes sue US paparazzi over drone pictures of Archie at home
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex are suing paparazzi for invasion of privacy after drones were allegedly used to take pictures of their son, Archie, at the house where they are staying in Los Angeles.
In a 10-page legal complaint filed in the Superior Court of the State of California the couple said they were victims of harassment that had “crossed a red line for any parent”.
The court document said: “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-monthold 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.”
No paparazzi were named in the complaint with defendants listed as “John Doe 1 – 100”.
The complaint said drones had been flown as little as 20ft above the house three times a day. Helicopters had flown over as early as 5.30am and as late as 7pm “waking neighbours and their son day after day”, it said.
Some photographers had also cut holes in a mesh fence around the property, according to the complaint.
The Sussexes said the issue came to a head when they found a photograph of Archie, purportedly taken on a family outing in Malibu, was being offered for sale to media outlets. They said the photograph was actually taken while they were in the garden of the house they are staying in, which would be illegal, as well as “disgusting and wrong”.
“Archie has not been in public, much less in Malibu, since the family arrived here,” the complaint said.
According to the complaint the case was part of an effort by the couple to discover who had taken that photograph of their son.
In the complaint it said: “The plaintiffs have done everything in their power to stay out of the limelight, except in connection with their work, which they freely admit is newsworthy.
“But the photos at issue are not news. They are not in the public interest. They are harassment.”
Because the couple does not know who took the photographs, the suit targets unnamed defendants as a way to allow them to pursue anyone peddling or publishing the photos.
It is thought to allow them greater powers than available in the UK to use subpoenas against agencies or individuals trying to sell the photos in future.
The lawsuit invokes a Californian law that states that it is illegal to use devices like drones and telephoto lenses to photograph people within their homes.