The Kate Middleton Paparazzi Photo Isn’t All Over the U.K. For a Simple Reason, According to a Lawyer
The paparazzi photo taken of Kate Middleton marked the first sighting of the British royal in 2024. So, why hasn’t it been plastered all over U.K. publications? According to a lawyer, the image taken of the Princess of Wales in Windsor, England, is a “breach of privacy.” However, that doesn’t mean it won’t be published in Britain soon. Or that Kensington Palace won’t try to put a stop to it.
Paparazzi photo violated Kate’s privacy, lawyer says
Amid much speculation about Kate online, from her whereabouts to her health, TMZ published an image of the 42-year-old. It came on March 4, 2024, nearly two months after Kate underwent a “planned” abdominal surgery from which she’s been recovering at home.
“It’s a breach of privacy essentially,” Mark Stephens, an attorney at U.K.-based law firm Howard Kennedy, said (via Newsweek). “It’s more difficult to sue TMZ because they’re based in America. But anyone who republishes them here [could be sued].”
“I imagine they won’t. And it will be interesting to see whether they are taken down from social media,” he continued. The lawyer also noted that the photographer and/or picture agency who sold the snapshot could face legal consequences.
Not to mention, something similiar’s happened in the past with Kate.
“It was said at that time that she had a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Stephens told the outlet in reference to photos taken of Kate in a grocery store parking lot. The key, he explained, is that Kate wasn’t on duty, so to speak, but rather “carrying out her private role.”
“Although she was in a public place, she was carrying out her private role,” he said. For that reason, she could expect privacy. “The same principle applies here.”
Kensington Palace should issue a warning about publishing the picture of the Princess of Wales
No British publication has printed the paparazzi photo of Kate at the time of writing. However, Stephens shared it’d be wise for the palace to issue a “precautionary” letter to editors who might be considering the idea.
“You’d do a precautionary letter not for publication to the legal departments of the big media outlets and remind them of their privacy obligations,” he said. “So you’re basically giving them a mind how you go.”
This is far from the first time the palace has navigated paparazzi photos of British royals. TMZ printed pictures of a naked Prince Harry in 2012.
More recently, in May 2023, the outlet posted footage of what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s camp would describe as a “near-catastrophic” chase involving paparazzi.
The paparazzi photo showed Kate in the car with her mother
On March 4, 2024, the public got their first glimpse of Kate since Christmas Day, 2023.
The image, taken by paparazzi and published by TMZ, showed a sunglasses-clad Kate riding in the passenger seat of a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, at the wheel.
Reports claimed the snapshot may have been taken during a fixture of Kate’s typical day, dropping her three children off at school.
Since then, what is — for now at least — Kate’s first official appearance in the wake of her surgery has been scheduled. Although not confirmed by Kensington Palace, the British Army listed Kate as the person who will inspect soldiers as part of Trooping the Colour, the sovereign’s annual birthday parade, in June 2024.
