Prince Harry accepts apology from news agency for intrusive images of living room, bedroom

May 16, 2019
Entertainment

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan introduce baby Archie to the world two days after his birth.
USA TODAY

Prince Harry has won another battle for his privacy rights in the face of what he considers media “intrusions.”

The Duke of SussexÂ settled privacy and data protection claims against a news agency that hovered over his country home in a helicopter in January, taking photos directly into his living room and bedroom.Â

Buckingham Palace saidÂ Thursday that Harry accepted “substantial damages” and an apology from Splash News and Picture Agency. The figure wasÂ not disclosed; it is expected Harry will donate the money to charity.

“The Duke of Sussex acknowledges and welcomes the formal apology from Splash News and Picture Agency,” the palace statement said.Â

In a longer statement read in open court, Harry’s lawyerÂ saidÂ the home in the English countryside was chosen because of “the high level of privacy it afforded,” but that now he and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, feel “they are no longer able to live at the property.”

TheÂ leased country retreat was in the CotswoldsÂ in Oxfordshire, underÂ two hoursÂ northwest of London.

Harry’s lawyer, Gerrard Tyrrell , said in his statement that Harry asserts Splash’s tactics breached his right to privacy and the U.K.’s data protection acts.

Splash says it “recognized that this situation represents an error of judgment,” and promised it would not happen again.Â “We apologize to the Duke and DuchessÂ for the distress we have caused,” the agency said in a statement.

Tyrrell said photographs of the home were published by The Times newspaper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp,Â and also online by other media outlets.

The Sun, also owned by News Corp, published and tweeted a picture of the homeÂ in early January, but the photo was not identified as a Splash photo. That story in turn was picked up by publications such asÂ Brides magazine.

Also in January, TheÂ Daily Mail published what it claimed wasÂ “the first picture” of Harry and Meghan’s Cotswolds “country hideaway,” although it did not identify the picture as a Splash photo. Later,Â The MailÂ reported that Harry and Meghan were leaving their “Cotwswolds country bolthole,”Â where they had been spending weekends, in March because of “security concerns.”Â Â Â

“No consent was given to the actions taken by Splash,” Tyrell’s statement said.Â “The Duke has had to engage his solicitors to take steps to try to secure the removal of the photographs from these websites. The syndication and publication of the photographs very seriously undermined the safety and security of The Duke and the home to the extent that they are no longer able to live at the property.”

Harry and Meghan, plus their newborn son, Archie, who was born May 6, are now living at their newly renovated Frogmore Cottage home on the Windsor Castle estate, about 25 miles west of London, which affords them more privacy than Kensington Palace in London where they had been based.Â Â

The young royals, especially Harry, have increasingly chafed about what they view as intrusionsÂ by the media and have sought to defend their privacy rights in the courts.

Aspects of Archie’s birth, including where he was born, have not been disclosed because Harry and Meghan want to keep it “private.”

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The entire royal family gathers on Buckingham Palace balcony after the Trooping the Colour parade. In this picture, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are seen with the queen, her son, Prince Andrew of York, Duchess Camilla of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Duchess Kate of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, Prince William, and one of the queen’s great-granddaughters, Savannah Phillips. LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 09: Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah Phillips, Prince George of Cambridge and Isla Phillips watch the flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour on June 9, 2018 in London, England. The annual ceremony involving over 1400 guardsmen and cavalry, is believed to have first been performed during the reign of King Charles II. The parade marks the official birthday of the Sovereign, even though the Queen’s actual birthday is on April 21st. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775171454 ORIG FILE ID: 970405304 Chris Jackson/ Getty Images

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In September 2018, aÂ French court of appeals upheld a 2017 ruling that two directors of Closer should be fined about $52,500Â for breaching the privacy of the sunbathing duchess in publishing the photos.Â The court also upheld fines for the two photographers who snapped the pictures.

At the time of the original ruling in September 2017, Will and Kate’s office issued a statement saying they were pleased, as they â€œwished to make the point strongly that this kind of unjustified intrusion should not happen.â€

Contributing: The Associated Press

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