Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hire Kim Kardashian lawyer to sue snapper over claims he used drone to photograph Archie

PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle have hired Kim Kardashian's lawyer to sue a photographer who they say used a drone to capture images of one-year-old son Archie.

The Sussexes claim the Los Angeles paparazzi “crossed a red line for any parent” by snapping the toddler in their Beverly Hills garden.

The pair are reported to have hired Michael J. Kump of California law firm Kinsella Weitzman, who counts reality star Kim among his clients, to pursue the case.

The couple decided to take legal action after discovering that the photos were being offered for sale as if they had been shot during a family outing in Malibu.

But they say Archie has not been anywhere in public since they moved to LA in March and have called the snaps "disgusting and wrong".

They are claiming invasion of privacy and are also filing for an injunction to block publication of the photo.

In Californian court papers, first obtained by website TMZ, the pair claim snappers are lying because they know “unsolicited photographs of a young child in the privacy of his own home are very much unlawful”.

Kump said in a statement on Thursday: “Every individual and family member in California is guaranteed by law the right to privacy in their home.

“No drones, helicopters or telephoto lenses can take away that right.”

The legal filing said: "The plaintiffs have done everything in their power to stay out of the limelight, except in connection with their work, which they freely admit is newsworthy.

"But the photos at issue are not news. They are not in the public interest. They are harassment."

'RIGHT TO A PRIVATE LIFE'

The couple claim drones have been flown as low as 20ft above the mansion – owned by friend Tyler Perry – three times a day in a bid to photograph them.

They also claim helicopters have hovered over the home between the hours of 5.30am and 7pm "waking neighbours and their son day after day."

According to the 10-page legal complaint – filed in the Superior Court of the State of California – some paparazzi have also cut holes in the mesh fence surrounding the property.

No photographers were named in the legal complaint which listed defendants simply as "John Doe 1 – 100".

The complaint says the case is part of an effort by the royal couple to discover who had taken the photograph of Archie.

In the docs, the family detail how they moved to Hollywood to escape "escape the incessant UK tabloid fabrications".

They say that they had lived "unmolested" in North Saanich, Canada, for six weeks before moving to Los Angeles.

In May, it was reported that the prince and his wife had called-in at least five drone-related incidents to the LAPD's non-emergency line in the previous four weeks.

The couple reportedly saw drones over the mansion on May 9, 19, 20, 21 and 25 and told pals they planned to hire a private security team using their own cash.

They "seek no special treatment" and "simply want to continue the public impact work that is so important to them while having the private life to which any family or individual has the right", the legal complaint says.

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