'Extraordinarly reckless': Prince Harry says children targeted by paparazzi

In short:

Prince Harry's children have been stalked by "certain European paparazzi" while at school in the English countryside, his spokesperson says.

Photographers reportedly walked the perimeter of Archie and Lilibet's new school before stopping to look in the grounds and monitor the royal children there.

It marks the latest security issue plaguing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since their return to Britain from California last month.

Prince Harry's children have been stalked by "certain European paparazzi" while at school in the English countryside, his spokesperson says, marking the latest security incident in the royal's long-running battle with media outlets.

The spokesperson said on Wednesday, local time, that photographers had walked the perimeter of the children's new school before stopping to look in the grounds and monitor the children there.

Security issues have plagued the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and their children Archie and Lilibet, following their return to Britain from California last month.

The family have sought to keep the location of their new home and the children's school private. The children have already changed schools after heavy traffic on the route to the original location caused concerns for their security team.

"The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless," the spokesperson said in a statement.

While the British press have been broadly respectful of the family's privacy since they moved back, the couple's spokesperson said "certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school".

Harry has long blamed the press for the death of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in 1997 when the car she was travelling in crashed as the driver sped away from chasing paparazzi. 

He has compared the press' treatment of Meghan Markle to that suffered by his mother.

The couple — who stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and became private citizens — have their own security team but want the British government to provide their family with automatic police protection, as is the case for other senior members of the royal family.

Harry's brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, has had similar experiences with European paparazzi and has in the past won privacy cases against French magazines for publishing photographs of his family while not on official duties.

The brothers, who were once close, have been estranged since Harry stepped down and published a book detailing the breakdown of the relationship and gave several interviews which criticised the royal family.