William tackles photographer over privacy

Kensington Palace claims breach of protocol after video shot of Duke and family near Norfolk home

‘I am very concerned that on every challenge they face — fake news, hate speech — our tech leaders seem to be on the back foot …’

‘… They seem unable to engage in constructive discussion about the social problems that they are creating’

THE Duke of Cambridge has spent years negotiating a world in which he can enjoy a weekend bicycle ride with his children in peace.

That ambition has suffered a setback, after a video said by Kensington Palace to breach the Cambridges’ privacy was viewed by tens of thousands of people despite attempts to block it.

The video, which was viewed more than 20,000 times on Monday, shows the Duke confronting a photographer after he was filmed with his family near Sandringham, Norfolk. The Duke, 40, is seen remonstrating with a man videoing him, while his wife and three children are off camera nearby.

Kensington Palace has responded by arguing it was a breach of the family’s privacy. The short video was uploaded four days ago, more than a year after the incident occurred.

It is understood staff have sought the removal of the video from websites, with lawyers also writing to the photographer directly shortly after the dispute.

Last night, the three-minute-long video was still available on Youtube with a version circulating on Tiktok as well.

It underlines the significant challenges facing the Royal family in the online era, where rules followed by the traditional media do not apply.

The British print media does not publish photographs or videos of the royal family in private circumstances, being particularly sensitive to images of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The Duke has spent years finessing an arrangement in which he authorises a small number of photographs of the children each year in recognition of their future public roles, while insisting on their total privacy the rest of the time.

But images of the children are regularly posted on social media, and sold to European publications working under different laws and press watchdogs.

The Duke has previously been highly critical of social media firms and their approach to fake news, privacy issues and cyber-bullying, accusing them of failing to take the issues seriously.

The latest video was filmed in January 2021 near the Cambridges’ Anmer Hall home where the Duke, Duchess and their three children were riding their bikes along a country lane.

It shows the Duke confronting a photographer who claimed to have been in the area on public roads only looking for the Saturday Sandringham shoot.

Staff have made successful appeals before for unauthorised photographs of the children to be taken down.

The Duke has previously warned of the dangers of social media networks and what he saw as the disinclination of their executives to deal with a range of problems which affected users.

“I am very concerned that on every challenge they face — fake news, extremism, polarisation, hate speech, trolling, mental health, privacy, and bullying — our tech leaders seem to be on the back foot,” he said in 2018.

“Their self-image is so grounded in their positive power for good that they seem unable to engage in constructive discussion about the social problems that they are creating.”

A spokesman for Youtube has not yet commented.

It is not the first time the Duke has tried to stop photographers.

In 2007, he authorised a public statement from the palace about treatment of his then girlfriend Kate Middleton, saying: “He wants, more than anything, for it to stop.

“Miss Middleton should, like any other private individual, be able to go about her everyday business without this kind of intrusion.”

The couple later successfully sued a French magazine over photographs of the Duchess sunbathing.

He has also spoken about the effect on him during his childhood of paparazzi harassment of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.