SNAPPERS SUED
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sue photographers over ‘drone pictures of Archie in their LA garden’
HARRY and Meghan are suing photographers over claims they took pictures of their one-year-old son Archie with a drone.
The Sussexes claim the Los Angeles paparazzi “crossed a red line for any parent” by snapping the tot in their Beverly Hills garden.
⚠️Read our Meghan and Harry blog for the latest news on the Royal couple.
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They have decided to take legal action after they discovered the photos are being offered for sale as if they were shot during a family outing in Malibu.
But they say Archie has not been anywhere in public since they moved to LA in March and have called the snaps "disgusting and wrong".
Harry and Meghan are claiming invasion of privacy and are also filing for an injunction to block publication of the photo.
The royal couple have hired attorney Michael Kump from law firm Kinsella Weitzman, which has previously represented reality star Kim Kardashian West.
In Californian court papers, first obtained by website TMZ, the pair claim snappers are lying because they know “unsolicited photographs of a young child in the privacy of his own home are very much unlawful”.
'DISGUSTING AND WRONG'
The legal filing 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."
The furious couple claim drones have been flown as low as 20ft above the mansion - owned by their pal Tyler Perry - three times a day in a bid to photograph them.
They also claim helicopters have hovered over their home between the hours of 5.30am and 7pm "waking neighbours and their son day after day."
According to the 10-page legal complaint - filed in the Superior Court of the State of California - some paparazzi have also cut holes in the mesh fence surround the property.
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No photographers were named in the legal complaint which listed defendants simply as "John Doe 1 - 100".
The complaint says the case is part of an effort by the royal couple to discover who had taken the photograph of Archie.
In the docs, the family detail how they moved to Hollywood to escape "escape the incessant UK tabloid fabrications".
They say that they had lived "unmolested" in North Saanich, Canada, for six weeks before moving to Los Angeles.
In May, it was reported that the prince and his wife had called-in at least five drone-related incidents to the LAPD's non-emergency line in the previous four weeks.
The couple reportedly saw drones over the mansion on May 9, 19, 20, 21 and 25 and told pals they planned to hire a private security team using their own cash.
They "seek no special treatment" and "simply want to continue the public impact work that is so important to them while having the private life to which any family or individual has the right", the legal complaint says.
The court doc 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-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."
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In a statement, their attorney Mr Kump said: “Every individual and family member in California is guaranteed by law the right to privacy in their home.
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“No drones, helicopters or telephoto lenses can take away that right.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are filing this lawsuit to protect their young son's right to privacy in their home without intrusion by photographers and to uncover and stop those who seek to profit from these illegal actions.”
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