Meghan Markle is taking legal action against the paparazzi who followed her and Archie after taking photos through the fence of their home

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Meghan Markle is taking legal action against the paparazzi who followed her and Archie after taking photos through the fence of their home
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie after a charity polo match.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
  • Meghan Markle is taking legal action against Splash News after it sold photos of her and Archie on Vancouver Island earlier this year, the Mail Online and the Evening Standard report.
  • Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex say the family's privacy was invaded after the photographer took "photos through the security fence" of their private residence before snapping photos of Markle and Archie walking on a "private recreational route" near the residence, according to the Evening Standard.
  • The publication added that the High Court has agreed for legal letters to be sent to Splash News in the US.
  • Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Splash News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this article.
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The Duchess of Sussex has launched a lawsuit against Splash News after one of its photographers took pictures of her with her son Archie on Vancouver Island earlier this year, the Evening Standard and Mail Online report.

Meghan Markle is suing the photo agency on the grounds of her son's privacy being invaded, according to the Evening Standard.

The photos were taken on a "private recreational route" — a woodland area near the family's residence where the duchess was walking with Archie and her dogs in January, Markle's lawyers told the High Court on Thursday, the publication added.

The Splash photographer "was at the private home of the claimants, doing what might be colloquially known as casing their home, taking photos through the security fence" the day before following Markle and Archie on their walk, according to the duchess' lawyers.

"He wasn't at the park by accident," they said, according to the Evening Standard.

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The duchess says that data protection laws were broken when the images were sold to British newspapers The Mail and The Sun.

There was no legal representation for Splash News at the High Court on Thursday, according to the Evening Standard. However, the agency wrote in a letter sent in February that the duchess should have no expectation of privacy as the photos are in the "public interest."

The court has agreed for legal letters to be sent to Splash News in the US, since the UK branch went into administration during the pandemic, the Evening Standard reports.

It isn't the first time the duchess has taken legal action against the company.

Last year Markle and Prince Harry were awarded a "substantial payout" after a Splash photographer used a helicopter to take photos and videos of the inside of the couple's home in the Cotswolds, UK.

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The agency published photos of their living room, dining area, and even their bedroom in January 2019.

"Splash has always recognized that this situation represents an error of judgment and we have taken steps to ensure it will not be repeated," the photo agency told Insider in May 2019.

"We apologize to the Duke and Duchess for the distress we have caused."

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Splash News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this article.

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