British Royals have called for an end to the paparazzi “harassment” of the infant Prince George.
A statement from Kensington Palace claims “A line has been crossed” in relation to the young heir to the throne.
George, who is the first child of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has been something of a media celebrity since his birth in July, 2013.
While a number of photoshoots have been arranged by the palace to acknowledge public interest in the young royal, his family have voiced their grave concerns around the chase for unauthorised pictures of the toddler.
Paparazzi harassment of Prince George has increased in recent months and their tactics are becoming increasingly dangerous, Kensington Palace says.
In a statement designed to inform “public discussion around the unauthorised photography of children”, Kensington Palace representatives claimed that a small number of publications has published photos taken in “unacceptable circumstances”.
The palace went on to explain how photographers have in recent months used long range lenses to capture images of The Duchess playing with Prince George in private parks. They went on to describe how the paparazzi had monitored the movements of Prince George and his nanny around London, photographed the children of private individuals visiting The Duke and Duchess’s home and pursued cars leaving family homes.
One chilling accusation states that photographers had used other children to draw Prince George into view around playgrounds, while some individuals had even been found hiding on private property in fields and woodland locations around the family home in Norfolk.
The statement continues: “It is clear that while paparazzi are always keen to capture images of any senior member of The Royal Family, Prince George is currently their number one target. We have made the decision to discuss these issues now as the incidents are becoming more frequent and the tactics more alarming. A line has been crossed and any further escalation in tactics would represent a very real security risk.
“All of this has left The Duke and Duchess concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance. They know that almost all parents love to share photos of their children and they themselves enjoy doing so. But they know every parent would object to anyone – particularly strangers – taking photos of their children without their permission. Every parent would understand their deep unease at only learning they had been followed and watched days later when photographs emerged.”
They added: “The Duke and Duchess are determined to keep the issues around a small number of paparazzi photographers distinct and separate from the positive work of most newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, and web publishers around the world.”
