|
Leave Kate alone, says Wills
10/01/2007 11:11 - (SA)
London - Britain's Prince William wants "more than anything" for press photographers to stop harassing his girlfriend Kate Middleton, his aides said on Tuesday.
A battery of more than 20 photographers and five TV crews lined the pavement outside the central London home of Middleton Tuesday to shoot a picture of her on her 25th birthday.
A spokesperson for Clarence House, the London residence of Prince William, said he wanted to see an end to the persistent attention Middleton is facing from photographers.
Former royal aide Dickie Arbiter said the harassment suffered by Middleton was akin to that of the late Princess Diana in 1980 before she got engaged to Prince Charles.
"A similar thing happened to Diana, Princess of Wales, at the time of her engagement and here we are so many years on and exactly the same thing is happening. They haven't learnt a lesson," Arbiter told the BBC.
The palace has repeatedly denied that an engagement between Prince William, who this week started his active army career, and Middleton, is imminent.
Lawyers for Middleton, who works as a buyer for fashion chain Jigsaw, are said to be attempting to use persuasion rather than legal action to help protect her.
Stop using paparazzi pictures
Clarence House on Tuesday welcomed the decision by News International, the Murdoch-owned media group comprising The Times, the Sun and the News of the World, to impose a ban on the use of so-called paparazzi images not taken by their own photographers.
"We are pleased that News International has agreed to stop using the paparazzi pictures. What Prince William wants more than anything is for the paparazzi to stop harassing her."
Commentators said if News International adhered to its self-imposed ban, the international demand for paparazzi pictures would automatically decline.
|
South Africa
