Kensington Palace Condemns The Release Of A Video Of Prince William Confronting A Paparazzi Photographer
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has been the subject of unwelcome media attention, after a video of him confronting a member of the paparazzi was released. According to Yahoo! Life, Kensington Palace, his family’s official residence, has issued a statement calling the video an “invasion of privacy”.
The video was recorded in January last year, but was only uploaded onto YouTube last week. In it, the prince confronts a photographer, accusing him of filming him and his family as they cycled near the couple’s Anmer Hall residence on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. His wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, says she saw him from their house, taking photographs of them. Prince William angrily berates the photographer, accusing him of stalking about and following him and his family, calling the photographer “outrageous” and “disgusting” and asking him how he could do that to his children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The photographer claims that he was only using public roads and that he has done nothing wrong. However, it has to be said that he filmed the entire affair and that the prince did not appear at any moment to be threatening him physically.
Media reports indicate that the prince’s staff are working to have the video removed. The video is no longer visible on YouTube. It remains to be seen whether this will remain so.
Although public figures have some expectation that their private lives will spill over into the public domain, the prince and his family have a great well of sympathy that they can call upon. The prince’s mother, Diana, princess of Wales, was killed while being chased by paparazzi reporters. The British public have, since then, been eager to give her children the privacy and space that she did not enjoy. Prince Wiliam alludes to this when, as he cycles off with his family, he says, “Thanks for ruining our day…I thought you guys had learnt by now.”It’s not surprising then that the video upload was met by a lot of negative press for the poster, with people pointing out that he had taken the time to film the whole event and then post it on YouTube. Given that the altercation is not in the public interest, the feeling is that this was done purely for clicks.
The Royal Family has in recent years faced a number of crises that have tarnished its reputation, from Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to claims of racism against Maghen Markle. However, this is far from that level and seems to be nothing more than what it looks like: two parents angry that a strange man has followed them along their bike ride and decided to photograph them, and then angry because that man not only filmed the encounter but posted it on YouTube.
The Anmer Hall residence is a beautiful home away from London, whose beauty would excite the best photography studios. Somehow, I don’t think this man cared about that. This is a story that reminds us that public figures do have a right to private life.