Meghan Markle has issued a cease-and-desist letter to publications that have used pictures snapped by paparazzi hiding in the bushes while she was out on a hike with her son, TMZ reports.
The Duchess of Sussex is currently residing in Vancouver Island, Canada. She and Archie, accompanied by two dogs, were on a walk when paparazzi snapped several pictures of the group, which were then widely published online.
In a cease-and-desist letter sent to various British media outlets, the Sussexes made it clear that there will be a lawsuit coming for having published the photos, and warned anyone with designs of using them that they too will be sued.
In their letter, the Sussexes allege that paparazzi have been stalking the Duchess, hiding out in bushes where she’s known to walk and setting up camp near their home with telephoto lenses.
Whether or not their letter will carry any legal weight remains to be seen. In the United Kingdom, strict laws prohibit publications from publishing photos of any members of the Royal Family that didn’t come from an official public appearance.
Although Canada is officially part of the Commonwealth and still regards the British monarch as its Sovereign, the country doesn’t have such laws about photos of royals.
The Windsor family’s relationship with the paparazzi has been fraught, to put it mildly, for decades. Princess Diana was followed, stalked and generally hounded by the paparazzi for much of her adult life. The paparazzi may have played a role in her death, as she died in a car accident while fleeing photographers in Paris.
And indeed, that death of the woman who would have been Meghan’s mother-in-law, was vaguely referenced in the cease-and-desist letter.
“There are serious safety concerns about how the paparazzi are driving and the risk to life they pose,” the letter reads.
This incident may be the first test of how far Canada’s patience is going to extend to its newest celebrity residents. Harry and Meghan have announced that they are retiring as senior members of the Royal Family, and intend to split their time between the United Kingdom and Canada. Already, that’s causing headaches for the Canadian government, as the two require extensive security and someone has to pay for it, as CTV News reports. As of this writing, it hasn’t officially been decided whether the bill will be picked up by the Canadian taxpayer, the British taxpayer, the Royal Family’s personal wealth, or some combination of the three.