- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly asked their lawyers to warn media outlets of legal action after paparazzi captured a photo of the duchess walking her dogs and carrying baby Archie on Monday, according to the BBC.
- It has not yet been confirmed if Prince Harry and Markle’s potential legal action would go into effect in Canada or the UK.
- Insider spoke with legal experts from Canada, who said the country is not used to paparazzi culture, and that Prince Harry and Markle’s situation represents a “new territory” for Canadian media and privacy laws.
- The couple’s legal warning comes three days after a Buckingham Palace spokesperson announced that the couple will completely “step back” from royal duties starting in the spring.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
After a paparazzi photo of Meghan Markle taken in Canada on Monday circulated in the media, the Sussexes have reportedly asked their lawyers to take legal action.
The Daily Mail was among the UK-based publications that published the paparazzi photo of Markle in question. In the picture, the duchess is seen in Horth Hill Regional Park on Vancouver Island, where she’s holding baby Archie and walking her dogs, Guy and Oz, according to the BBC.
The BBC reports that Markle did not consent to the photographs taken of her in the Vancouver Island park. Lawyers also reported that there have been attempts by photographers to take pictures inside Prince Harry and Markle’s property on Vancouver Island using long-range lenses.
Harry landed at Vancouver International Airport on Monday night, according to People, which means he's joining Meghan and baby Archie for the first time in almost two weeks.
Meghan has been in Canada since shortly after the couple's initial announcement on January 8, in which they detailed plans to take a "step back" from royal life.
On Saturday, the palace released a statement detailing the agreement between the Queen, Prince Harry, and Markle, which states that the couple will cease royal duties, stop using their HRH titles, and will no longer formally represent the Queen. This new, independent role will go into effect in the spring, the statement said.
Canadian experts told Insider that it's possible Prince Harry and Markle could argue that the paparazzi photo taken of the duchess was an invasion of privacy
David Fraser, a privacy lawyer at McInnes Cooper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, told Insider that based on initial reports of Harry and Meghan's legal action, he thinks it is possible the couple may argue that their privacy was invaded when paparazzi took a picture of Meghan in the Vancouver Island park.
Fraser said that British Columbia, the province in which Vancouver Island is located, has a provincial privacy law - and that law contains what's known as the Privacy Act, which allows individuals to sue for invasion of privacy.
"The law is relatively undefined as to the parameters and extent, but it would be informed by the reasonable expectation of privacy," Fraser said of the Privacy Act.
In other words, the Privacy Act does not strictly define what situations can be considered an invasion of privacy. Fraser said the Canadian courts largely base invasion of privacy rulings on the circumstance.
"Most people would conclude you have a reduced expectation of privacy when you're in a public place. Canadian courts have been trending to say 'it's not that you have no expectation of privacy, but your privacy is very circumstance-specific,'" Fraser said of privacy laws in Canada.
Fraser said he thinks, based on the BBC report, which said photographers have tried to capture the interior of Harry and Meghan's home, that it's possible the Sussexes may also argue that they were subjects of surveillance.
"If I was the lawyer for the Sussexes writing a letter to the paparazzi or media, I would probably be more leaning strongly toward arguing for the surveillance aspect," Fraser said. "If there have been attempts to photograph with long lenses into the home in which they're residing, that would very likely be an unreasonable invasion of someone's privacy."
Dean Jobb, the author of "Media Law for Canadian Journalists" and a professor of media law, journalism ethics, and feature writing at the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, told Insider that he thinks Harry and Meghan's reported legal action against the paparazzi in Canada may face an obstacle arguing that their privacy was invaded in the public park.
"They have got quite an obstacle to scale there in the fact that it's a public space," Jobb said. "There are certainly no prohibitions against taking photos of someone in a public space."
Jobb said that in regards to the use of long-range lenses to photograph inside the couple's private home, there are criminal statutes that protect against voyeurism. He added that Canada also has statutes that protect individuals from unethical news-gathering methods, including harassment.
"There are some potential behaviors that you can't justify as news-gatherers. For example, no journalist has the right to harass someone," Jobb said. "You might need to talk to a source, but you can't keep phoning them where it would be considered the crime of harassing phone calls."
Both experts agreed that regardless of the outcome of Prince Harry and Markle's reported legal action, their situation is 'new territory' for Canada, which typically does not experience paparazzi culture
"This is new territory in terms of privacy law and media law in Canada," Jobb said of Harry and Meghan's situation.
"The kind of aggressive paparazzi coverage that the royals attract is not unheard of in Canada, but it's not as common here," Jobb continued. "That means there is a different landscape here than may have been the case in Britain."
Fraser added that Harry and Meghan's situation is unique because Canada's privacy laws have, in large part, never before been used in the context of royals or celebrities.
"One thing worth noting is that while we have these laws, they haven't been used that often and they have not been used in the context of celebrities, royals, and public figures - perhaps because we do not have the same paparazzi culture in Canada," Fraser said of Canada's privacy laws.
Fraser added that he thinks Canadians will be sympathetic to Harry and Meghan's potential move.
"I think many people would be sensitive and sympathetic with the Sussexes coming to Canada, which was, as I understand it, in order to avoid a repeat of what happened to Diana," Fraser said. "It seems to me that the principal element that has prompted their radical change of lifestyle and radical change of status is because of the spotlight."
The couple's move to take legal action following paparazzi photos align with their continuous battle with the press
"Fighting for what they believe in. The Sussexes have instructed UK-based lawyers to issue a legal warning over long-lens paparazzi photos taken of Duchess Meghan out in Canada yesterday," wrote Omid Scobie, the royal editor at large at Harper's Bazaar US, in a tweet on Tuesday.
Fighting for what they believe in. The Sussexes have instructed UK-based lawyers to issue a legal warning over long-lens paparazzi photos taken of Duchess Meghan out in Canada yesterday.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 21, 2020
When Harry and Markle first announced their decision to take a "step back" from royal life - which they shared in an Instagram post on January 8 - they made clear that they would take a new approach to media regulations, which indicates how their view of the press played a major role in their decision.
The Sussex Royal website details the new approach they plan to take in regards to interacting with media, which includes handpicking reporters who can cover their engagements, and no longer participating in the Royal Rota system, which gives royal reporters from British publications access to report on the family's engagements.
It's also not the first time the couple has taken or threatened legal action against the press. Harry and Meghan Markle, separately, have filed lawsuits against the parent company of the Daily Mail, as well as British publications The Sun and the Daily Mirror, on separate occasions.
UK-based lawyers and media law experts did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
- Read more:
- Everything we know about what's next for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they try to become 'regular' citizens in Canada
- Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall was asked if she'll miss Harry and Meghan, and her facial expression says everything
- 20 stunning photos of Canada's Vancouver Island show why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should stay there for good
- How the royal family will change now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are giving up their titles