In a letter issued from Kensington Palace on Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expressed concern that members of the news media were going to increasing extremes to photograph their 2-year-old son, Prince George.
In an effort to help people "understand the tactics deployed to obtain these pictures," the letter, sent on behalf of Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, detailed episodes of photographers' using other children to attract Prince George on playgrounds; tracking the movements of a nanny and other household staff; and hiding in sand dunes to take photos of the child playing on the beach with his grandmother.
The palace said that the tactics had made it more difficult to distinguish a slinking photographer from someone who might wish to do harm.
The letter sought to establish a firmer boundary between the prince's nascent public persona as a member of the British royal family and his private life, and pleaded with members of the public who read publications that buy unauthorized photos to acknowledge how their curiosity is supplying demand.
The royal family knows the harm such unrelenting fascination can cause. The death of George's other grandmother, Princess Diana, in a crash in Paris in 1997 is thought to have been caused, in part, by members of the paparazzi. The car she was traveling in with her lover, Dodi al-Fayed, crashed after photographers chased it; the chauffeur of the car was also blamed for negligent driving, British officials found after a 2008 inquiry.
George, who is third in line for the throne - after his father, William, and his 66-year-old grandfather, Charles - has been a subject of intense curiosity from the news media and fans around the world from the moment the Duchess of Cambridge announced her pregnancy. (The birth of his sister, the 3-month-old Princess Charlotte, stirred a comparatively muted frenzy.) His first steps led to breathless coverage. And mothers around the world have taken note of the tiny prince's elegant rompers and shoes, copying his looks for their own children.
In the age of social media, the royal family has walked a delicate line between a public with unabated curiosity and its towheaded, rosy-cheeked son, known for engaging with the glare of the spotlight.
"We have made the decision to discuss these issues now, as the incidents are becoming more frequent and the tactics more alarming," the letter said. "A line has been crossed, and any further escalation in tactics would represent a very real security risk."
The palace added that it would continue to pursue legal action against those who interfered with its privacy.
