Photographers affiliated with the European press have been criticised for entering the vicinity of the school attended by Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, amid accusations of reckless and intrusive conduct. According to security personnel at the school, two men carrying backpacks and using a white van were seen walking around the school’s perimeter while observing children.
A spokesman representing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex described the behaviour as an “extraordinary lack of judgment,” especially given the recent security concerns following a suspected terror threat near RAF Fairford. The base hosts several American families, whose children also attend the school.
The spokesman stated, “There is a significant difference between appropriate journalistic practices and the act of photographers loitering around a school, peering into playgrounds, and monitoring young students as they go about their day. Such conduct is not only concerning for the privacy it breaches but is particularly inappropriate in the current context.”
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Authorities later identified the men as international photographers working for a European agency after tracing the rented white van they used. The incident reportedly occurred on a Monday, following the arrest of five individuals near RAF Fairford the previous Sunday, when several vans blocked a road early in the morning.
Since returning to the UK slightly over a month ago, Harry and Meghan have been awaiting confirmation on whether they will receive taxpayer-funded security. The couple previously withdrew Archie and Lilibet from their first-choice British school after just two days due to heavy local traffic complicating their private security team’s efforts.
The current school placement for the children is believed to have lasted around two weeks. The family remains conscious of past tragedies, considering that Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car accident pursued by paparazzi in Paris.
Local police have declined to either confirm or deny the details of this incident.