Pippa Middleton Takes Legal Action Against Paparazzi: Report
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Chris Jackson/Getty Images(LONDON) — In the eight months since Pippa Middleton stole the scene as maid of honor at sister Kate’s royal wedding to Prince William, she has been named one of the most photographed women in the world and dubbed “her Royal Hotness” by British tabloids.
Now the 28-year-old royal sister-in-law is said to be so royally hot over the media attention that she’s taking legal action.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail reports lawyers for Middleton this week sent a cease-and-desist letter to around six media agencies that distribute paparazzi photographs worldwide.
The letter is said to warn the agencies that unless their photographers stop following Middleton she will pursue legal action, which could include an injunction and legal costs.
Last week, the Daily Mail’s picture editor, Paul Silva, reported that 400 photographs of Middleton cross his desk every single day.
He also estimated that Middleton, who lives in London and works for her family’s party planning business, typically has eight or nine photographers camped outside her door ready to snap her every move.
The letter is said to describe Middleton as being in “serious distress and anxiety” over the attention.
The legal backing for Middleton’s request appears to come from a section of the Protection From Harassment Act 1997 that was enacted in England shortly before the death of Princess Diana, who was known as “the most photographed woman in the world” and who died in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi.
The letter cites Section 1 of the law that says “a person must not pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another and which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other,” according to the Mail.
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