Kate Middleton Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Steward's Academy on September 16, 2016 in Harlow, England. (Photo : Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton has, in the recent past, had privacy complaints concerning Express.co.uk and OK! Magazine publications. The websites reportedly published stories in May, showing Prince George sitting on a police motorbike at Kensington Palace.
The picture in question shows Middleton smiling as the young prince reaches out for the vehicle's controls. The two are watched by four officers, alleged to be motorbike outriders. The officers were on duty at the moment because a member of the loyal family was due to arrive by helicopter.
According to The Guardian, Middleton went ahead and complained to the Independent Press Standard Organization (Ipso) about the issue and how her privacy had been breached. iPso's complaints committee subsequently outlined the objections to the photo in its ruling.
The ruling said that "the complainants' representatives asserted that the photo had been taken in circumstances in which Middleton and her son had a reasonable expectation of privacy." Therefore, the two had been in a private activity when the images were taken.
Furthermore, they were on private land, where commercial photography is forbidden. And to make it worse, no permission had been sought to either take the photographs or publish them.
According to the committee, the two publications denied that the images had depicted the complainants in a private interaction. The websites told the board that the officers had been photographed while on duty and that it was important for the public to witness how young members of the royal family interacted with civil servants.
The press standards watchdog ruled in favor of Middleton after her objection. The committee came to the same conclusion in two separate rulings, acknowledging that as members of the royal family, the complainants despite being public figures, were photographed in private grounds of their home.
The committee added that Middleton and Prince George were not carrying out any official duties, and they were entirely unaware that they were being photographed. The interest of the public in Prince George, as served by the publications, was also opposed.
Meanwhile, the Duchess has been voted as United Kingdom's most influential style icon ahead of London fashion week. According to Rakuten Marketing, 29 percent of Britons consider her as a source of fashion.
Middleton has the ability to grant pieces of clothing a must-have status in mere moments. In fact, the whole of U.K's population is now obsessed with her wardrobe choices.
Check out Middleton's best looks since her wedding:
