Prince Harry and Meghan Markle warn media

LONDON: Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have issued a warning over harassment by paparazzi photographers after stepping down from their royal duties to start a new life in Canada, a royal source said on Tuesday.

The warning came after the media published images of Meghan taking a stroll through a park in Canada. They have been used by several outlets, including on the front page of the Sun, Britain’s best-selling daily newspaper.

“The Sussexes’ legal team have issued a legal notice to UK press, TV and photo agencies, concerning the use of paparazzi agency photos,” the royal source said, referring to the couple by their title as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry said last year he felt his wife had faced “bullying” from some tabloids similar to that faced by his mother Princess Diana who died in a 1997 car crash while trying to escape paparazzi photographers.

The couple accepted substantial damages and an apology from a news agency last year after it took aerial photographs of their home in the Cotswolds, southern England, forcing them to move out.

Earlier on Tuesday, Harry was shown arriving on Vancouver Island, days after reaching an arrangement with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth and other senior royals that will see him and Meghan quit their royal roles to seek an independent future.

Buckingham Palace confirmed on Saturday that Harry and Meghan would no longer be working members of the royal family. They would not use their “Royal Highness” titles and would pay their own way in life, freeing them to forge a new future in Canada and the United States.

Harry has admitted he had not wanted to step away entirely from his royal life and his military appointments, but said there was no other option.

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” he said on Sunday.

American actress Meghan returned to Canada on Jan. 10 to be reunited with baby son Archie, and Harry flew out late on Monday to join her.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the couple’s formal title which they will continue to use, spent six weeks in Canada at the end of last year before returning to Britain.

They publicly announced earlier this month by publicly announcing they wanted more independence, leaving other senior royals feeling hurt and disappointed, royal sources have said.