Prince William's difficult relationship with photographers has been widely discussed over the years, with the Duke of Cambridge invoking a law to protect Kate Middleton from paparazzi when they started dating and even issuing a statement to the press to stop them 'harassing' her.
Royal experts have spoken about how the late Princess Diana's challenges with photographers fuelled his commitment to protecting his own family and ensuring their privacy, with former editor of The Sun Kelvin MacKenzie telling Channel 5 documentary The Tabloids and the Royals: 'If you’re William, you’d seen your mother basically pursued down the high street by photographers.
'That would have left a scar on him, it was certainly having an effect on him.'
Last month, William's 'fiercely protective outburst' while being photographed on a family bike ride made the news with commentators calling him a 'lion' when it comes to ensuring his little ones, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are given privacy.
In 2018, the future King spoke about his worries for their futures, saying: 'I am very concerned though that on every challenge they face – fake news, extremism, polarisation, hate speech, trolling, mental health, privacy, and bullying – our tech leaders seem to be on the back foot.'
Now, a video of the conversation has been shared online with the Duke calling the photographer 'disgusting' and accusing him of 'stalking around' and 'looking for his children.'
The clip was uploaded to YouTube over the weekend, over a year after the events occurred, and was viewed 20,000 times before it was deleted, although it is said that royal aides are attempting to remove copies of the footage from other social media platforms.
According to the Mirror, during the three minute footage William called the situation 'outrageous' and added: 'Thanks for ruining our day' before calling someone for assistance.
Kensington Palace has responded to the video, telling The Telegraph that the photographer was breaching the family's privacy and that it highlights the challenges faced by royals.
