Prince`s girlfriend sues paparazzi

Prince William's long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton has hired the Queen's lawyers
to launch legal action over paparazzi photographs of her playing tennis.
Middleton, 28, instructed solicitors from Harbottle & Lewis after pictures showing
her in action on a tennis court in England at Christmas time were published in
Germany.
The solicitors fired off a warning to the photographer as well as picture agencies
which distributed the photos, Rex Features and Ikon Pictures.
The law firm has demanded the photos, which were offered to but not published by
British media outlets, to be withdrawn from circulation.
They have also called for the agencies and photographer to pay damages to Middleton
for invading her privacy.
If the demands are ignored, her lawyers have threatened to take the matter to court.
"I have sent a letter before action to two agencies, Rex Features and Ikon, and am
waiting to hear back," Harbottle & Lewis senior partner Gerrard Tyrell told
Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"If there is not a suitable response we will take legal action.
"I have been working with Kate for some time and we have been dealing with these
issues."
A Clarence House spokesman confirmed the photographs were taken at the Prince of
Wales' Restormel Manor, Cornwall, on Christmas Day.
"It's a private complaint being pursued by Kate Middleton against individual
photographers who allegedly harassed her family on Christmas Day," the spokesman
told the newspaper.
"Prince William was not present at that time."
The legal action comes a month after Buckingham Palace announced the royal family
was prepared to go to court over photographs they believed were intrusive and
invaded their privacy.
The family also appealed to the British media to respect their privacy over the
festive period.
While the tennis courts at Restormel Manor where Middleton was snapped are owned by
Prince Charles' Duchy of Cornwall, they can be hired by the public.
Other British media reports claimed that the photographer who photographed Middleton
was standing on a public footpath and that she had appeared unconcerned at the time.