World

Prince Harry accepts apology, undisclosed damages from paparazzi outlet

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has accepted substantial damages and an apology from Splash News and Picture Agency, which took photographs of his home, Buckingham Palace says.

Settlement stems from January incident involving a helicopter used to snap pics of private home

Prince Harry, shown Tuesday meeting the public as he arrives for a visit to Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford, has accepted substantial damages and an apology from a news agency that photographed his home from the air. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has accepted substantial damages and an apology from a news agency which took photographs of his home from the air, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

Harry's lawyer said Splash News and Picture Agency had chartered a helicopter in January to take photos and film the private home of Harry and his wife Meghan in Oxfordshire, central England.

"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 lawyer said in a court statement.

"The property had been chosen by the duke for himself and his wife given the high level of privacy it afforded, given its position in a secluded area surrounded by private farmland away from any areas to which photographers have access."

Sign up here to have The Royal Fascinator newsletter land in your inbox every other Friday.

Harry, Queen Elizabeth's grandson, and Meghan, have a strained relationship with the media, and after the birth of their first child earlier this month, have avoided posing for the traditional photo outside the hospital.

This did not go down well with some British media, which lamented the decision as a departure from more than 40 years of tradition.

Harry has never made a secret of his dislike of the media since his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a crash in 1997 as her car sped  from chasing photographers.