The Sussexes could end up having less privacy outside the palace:
They are also the most famous couple in the world, and they are doing the unthinkable: leaving their full-time royal roles to “start building a happy and peaceful new life,” as the prince’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, announced on Jan. 18. “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” Prince Harry told guests at a fundraising dinner in London the next evening.
Even though the duke and duchess were constantly in the headlines before their Jan. 8 announcement, few paparazzi images of them ever made it into the British media. That’s partly because their residences are tucked behind layers of government-funded protection. Their home in Britain, Frogmore Cottage, is located within the secure confines of the large home park of Windsor Castle.
Still, Canada may provide the Sussexes with the best chance for the private family life they want. Unlike in Britain and the United States, Canadian culture—and media—have a reputation for not delving into the private lives of public figures unless they directly impact their jobs. “It seems to me that everyone—whether you have a title attached to your name or not—is entitled to some degree of privacy,” says Michael McEvoy, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner.
Privacy is “the only area of law specifically designed to protect a person’s feelings,” says Fraser, a partner at the Halifax-based law firm of McInnes Cooper. “It varies person to person—some let it all hang out, some are extremely closed in—and circumstance to circumstance. It’s shades of grey, not absolutes.” In other words, the question of whether a person’s privacy has been invaded depends, in part, on the person whose privacy is in question.
Even if Harry and Meghan succeed in blocking photographs from being published in Canada or Britain, the decision could be largely moot in an era of instantaneous worldwide communication. It wasn’t always the case. In 1936, British newspapers and radio refrained from reporting on King Edward VIII’s scandalous relationship with Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, even while the rest of the world gobbled up media reports of their romance.
Right now, the Sussexes’ legal actions focus on British news organizations. Even if they are able to come to a truce with the media, there is still a huge threat to their privacy: citizen photographers. In late January, two blurry images hit social media featuring William and Kate’s youngest child, Prince Louis, toddling through a London museum with his nanny, and trailed by a protection officer.
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