Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Have Threatened To Sue Anyone Who Publishes Pictures Of Her Outdoor Hike

Today, we saw some pictures of Meghan Markle taking a casual stroll around a park on Vancouver Island with 8-month-old Archie. She was accompanied by her and Prince Harry’s two dogs, and two security guards. Those pictures had steam coming out of my ears, because I was born in Ontario and never thought to move out west where it’s not negative-13 slush pile from November till May. Those pictures had Harry and Meghan pissed for a whole other reason. According to a letter published today by Harry and Meghan’s lawyers, those pictures shouldn’t have been taken in the first place.

These are the pictures in question. They were first published by The Daily Mail.

https://twitter.com/thenikkidiaries/status/1219394482510147584

Meghan might be smiling in those pictures because Archie went a whole walk without aggressively shitting himself (ake the rarest of parenting miracles). But the way TMZ describes the situation, she probably wasn’t smiling because she was excited to see a photographer. A cease-and-desist letter was sent to British press today from Harry and Meghan, saying they can look forward to a lawsuit if those pictures are purchased or published. And judging by their letter, they want to make it clear that they didn’t call the paps:

“There are serious safety concerns about how the paparazzi are driving and the risk to life they pose.”

TMZ seems to think that “driving” reference subtly acknowledges the death of Princess Diana, which has been referenced many times since Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back as senior royals. Harry and Meghan’s letter also accuses that photographer of going to shady lengths to get those shots. They claim the photographer was hiding in the bushes, spying on Meghan. Additionally, they claim photographers have camped out around their rental mansion on Vancouver Island, and are using telephoto lenses in an attempt to get close shots of their family.

Meghan was walking in a public park, which might make this situation a bit more difficult to fight. We know you’re not allowed to photograph royals while they’re in the privacy of their own homes (or vacation rentals). But in the UK, there are privacy laws that protect royals when they’re out in public. They’re only allowed to be photographed if they’re making an official appearance. TMZ did some research, and while there aren’t any specific laws about photographing a member of the royal family in a public Canadian park, there is an expectation of privacy. Like, no one goes on a nature walk expecting a photographer to pop out of a patch of poison ivy. So Harry and Meghan could turn this into a lawsuit. And it’s not a guarantee they’d win, but a judge might agree that hiding out all day in the bushes is pretty shady.

The Daily Mail has not responded to Harry and Meghan’s threat, and the pictures are still up on their website. In fact, they’ve re-published them for a new post on how much money it costs to run Harry and Meghan’s Canadian security detail. They’ve claimed they planned to fight Harry and Meghan’s private letter lawsuit, so they’d probably fight a possible park walk lawsuit as well.

I hope Harry and Meghan get this all figured out. Because what’s the point of living on the west coast if you can’t go outside and enjoy it? Plus, their dogs need to go outside to do their business. If Harry and Meghan wanted to deal with a ton of shit every morning, they would have stayed in the UK.

Pic: Wenn.com