British royals say paparazzi are harassing Prince George

Prince William and Kate have accused paparazzi photographers of harassing their son, Prince George, saying the royal toddler had become their "number one target" and accusing them of going to "extreme lengths" to get pictures of him.

In an unusually strongly-worded open letter, Jason Knauf, the communications secretary of the duke and duchess of Cambridge, said the tactics used by some photographers were creating a “very real security risk”.

And he said their actions, which included using other children to draw George into view in playgrounds, had left William and Kate “concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and [younger daughter] Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance”. Prince George is third in line to the British throne.

The hard-hitting letter detailed a series of incidents involving paparazzi including one last week when a photographer set up a “hide” in his car with sheets and supplies of food and drink as he staked out a play area.

Other incidents included: photographers pursuing cars leaving family homes, surveillance of the Berkshire home of the duchess’s parents, photographers hiding in dunes to take photos of George playing with his grandmother, and hiding on private property in fields and woods around the duke and duchess’s home in Norfolk

In the letter, Mr Knauf said: “It is of course upsetting that such tactics — reminiscent as they are of past surveillance by groups intent on doing more than capturing images — are being deployed to profit from the image of a two-year-old boy.

“In a heightened security environment such tactics are a risk to all involved. The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm.”

The letter said that though most media outlets would not use images of George taken in this way, “a handful of international media titles” were willing to pay for them.

Mr Knauf said: “All of this has left the duke and duchess concerned about their ability to provide a childhood for Prince George and Princess Charlotte that is free from harassment and surveillance.

“They know that almost all parents love to share photos of their children and they themselves enjoy doing so. But they know every parent would object to anyone — particularly strangers — taking photos of their children without their permission.

“Every parent would understand their deep unease at only learning they had been followed and watched days later when photographs emerged.

“The duke and duchess are of course very fortunate to have private homes where photographers cannot capture images of their children.

“But they feel strongly that both Prince George and Princess Charlotte should not grow up exclusively behind palace gates and in walled gardens. They want both children to be free to play in public and semi-public spaces with other children without being photographed.”

Mr Knauf said the couple had “expressed their gratitude to British media organisations for their policy of not publishing unauthorised photos of their children”.