UK’s Prince Harry wins damages over photos

Britain’s Prince Harry has accepted “substantial” damages and an apology from a paparazzi agency that took photos of his home from a helicopter, Buckingham Palace announced yesterday. The Duke of Sussex sued Splash News over the January incident, arguing it had breached his privacy and data rights under British law and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The agency, which syndicates photos and videos for media outlets, chartered the helicopter on January 9 to fly over the prince’s private home near Oxford in the Cotswolds region, according to court testimony. “The helicopter flew over the home at a low altitude allowing Splash to take photographs of and into the living area and dining area of the home and directly into the bedroom,” the prince’s solicitor told the High Court in London.

“The syndication and publication of the photographs very seriously undermined the safety and security of The Duke and the home to the extent that they are no longer able to live at the property,” the solicitor added. Harry and his wife Meghan, who gave birth to the couple’s first child earlier this month, had reportedly signed a twoyear rental lease on the property