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William calls for paparazzi to 'stop chasing Kate'
Last updated at 17:07pm on 09.01.07
The pressure has begun to pile up on Ms Middleton, who was greeted by photographers outside her home from 6am this morning
Prince William wants "more than anything" for the paparazzi to stop harassing his girlfriend Kate Middleton, his aides have said.
Clarence House said the second-in-line to the throne wanted to see an end to the persistent attention Miss Middleton is facing from photographers.
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Lawyers for Miss Middleton, who turned 25 today, are said to be attempting to use persuasion rather than legal action to help protect her.
Harbottle & Lewis has been keeping the Press Complaints Commission informed of its correspondence with newspapers and magazines, but has not made a formal complaint.
Clarence House welcomed the decision by one media group to stop using paparazzi images of Miss Middleton.
News International confirmed the self-imposed ban today, which affects The Sun, the News of the World, The Times, The Sunday Times and free newspaper thelondonpaper.
A spokesman for William said: "We are pleased that News International has agreed to stop using the paparazzi pictures.
"What Prince William wants more than anything is for the paparazzi to stop harassing her."
Miss Middleton ran the gauntlet of photographers on her birthday today.
She faced a large press pack outside her London home as she left for work, with more than 20 photographers and five TV crews waiting for her to emerge from her Chelsea flat.
Interest in Miss Middleton has escalated in recent weeks following rumours that she and William, the future king, are set to wed.
The situation has infuriated the prince - not least because of the intrusion faced by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The princess, who was the world's most photographed woman, was being followed by paparazzi when she was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997.
The photographers took pictures of her as she lay dying at the crash site - actions which shocked and distressed William and younger brother Prince Harry.
Like Kate, Diana also endured photographers waiting outside her home when she was dating the Prince of Wales.
Images from November 1980 - three months before it was announced she was to wed Charles - show the princess, then Lady Diana Spencer, getting into her small car watched by the press near her London flat as she headed to work at a nursery school in Pimlico.
Preliminary hearings for the inquest into Diana's death were staged yesterday, with William and Harry calling for a swift conclusion to the case.
William reported for duty with his regiment, the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, yesterday.
It is not known whether he will get to see Miss Middleton on her birthday.
The 24-year-old is to spend several weeks settling in at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, before starting five months of training at Bovington Camp in Dorset in March.
The prince, who is now known in the Army as Cornet Wales, met Miss Middleton at university and the pair have been dating for more than three years.
The number of paparazzi following her around London has swelled over the New Year, with 10 police officers being called in to protect her and William as they left a nightclub last week.
One uniformed policeman was stationed outside her home today.
Her lawyers from Harbottle & Lewis, who also represent the Prince of Wales, complained about harassment in 2005, writing to newspaper editors and appealing to the press to leave her and her family alone.
They argued that she was being followed by photographers on an almost daily basis since leaving university.
Rumours that William and his girlfriend are planning to marry gathered pace after Miss Middleton turned up to watch the prince graduate from Sandhurst in December.
It was the first time she had been at a high-profile public event attended by the Queen and other senior royals as William's guest.
Reader views (1)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Have we learned nothing from the persistant harrasment and subsequent death of Diana, why cant we the public stop reading and pursuing the papers and mags that hound these people, just leave them to get on with there lives, and maybe the paparazi will leave them alone.
If we cant stop this voyeuristic nonsense then maybe the press should just stop fueling it with there over the top payment for the pictures.
I would hate to see history repeat itself.
- Brian, Swindon
