Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Get a Formal Apology for Drone Photos of Archie
While Meghan Markle's privacy lawsuit against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday continues, one of the Sussexes' other legal battles appears to have come to a close.
Earlier this year, Harry and Meghan filed a lawsuit against unnamed defendants to “protect their young son’s right to privacy in their home,” claiming that drones had flown over the house they were staying at in L.A. attempting to take pictures of baby Archie.
The complained alleged:
“Some paparazzi and media outlets have flown drones a mere 20 feet above the house, as often as three times a day, to obtain photographs of the couple and their young son in their private residence (some of which have been sold and published). Others have flown helicopters above the backyard of the residence, as early as 5:30 a.m. and as late as 7:00 p.m., waking neighbors and their son, day after day. And still others have even cut holes in the security fence itself to peer through it.”
According to a new story in the New York Times, while the defendants were unnamed in the complaint as the Sussexes "did not know who they were," "the culprit turned out to be [the news agency] X17, which, according to a settlement agreement filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, has agreed to turn over the photos to the family, destroy any copies in its archives or databases and never again traffic in any photos of the couple or their son taken by similar means 'in any private residence or the surrounding private grounds.'”
In addition to the settlement, X17 issued an apology to the royal couple.
“We apologize to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son for the distress we have caused,” the agency said in a statement, per the Times. “We were wrong to offer these photographs and commit to not doing so again.”
The Sussexes' lawyer, Michael J. Kump, also issued a statement. “All families have a right, protected by law, to feel safe and secure at home,” he said.
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