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UK’s Prince Harry wins damages over photos shot from helicopter
LONDON, May 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s Prince Harry has accepted
“substantial” damages and an apology from a paparazzi agency that took photos
of his home from a helicopter, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday.
The Duke of Sussex sued Splash News over the January incident, arguing it
had breached his privacy and data rights under British law and the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The agency, which syndicates photos and videos for media outlets,
chartered the helicopter on January 9 to fly over the prince’s private home
near Oxford in the Cotswolds region, according to court testimony.
“The helicopter flew over the home at a low altitude allowing Splash to
take photographs of and into the living area and dining area of the home and
directly into the bedroom,” the prince’s solicitor told the High Court in
London.
The Times newspaper, and a number of other online media outlets, published
the images two days later, the lawyer from the firm Harbottle and Lewis said.
“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,” the solicitor added.
Harry and his wife Meghan, who gave birth to the couple’s first child
earlier this month, had reportedly signed a two-year rental lease on the
property.
The firm told the court they had chosen the property because of “the high
level of privacy it afforded given its position in a secluded area”.
Harbottle and Lewis said in its court statement that Splash had agreed to
stop “selling, issuing, publishing or making available” the photos.
It had also vowed not to “repeat its conduct by using any aerial means to
take photographs or film footage of the Duke’s private home which would
infringe privacy or data rights,” the firm said.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of Sussex acknowledges
and welcomes the formal apology.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1723 hrs