The couple said the “long lens” photos taken close to their home in Canada breached their privacy.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex settled a claim against a celebrity picture agency which took “unlawful, invasive and intrusive” photos of Meghan and their son Archie, the High Court has heard.
The couple brought legal action against Splash News over “long lens” snaps taken of the duchess as she strolled in a Canadian park in January, with then eight-month-old Archie.
Details of the settlement were given at a remote hearing, presided over by Mr Justice Nicklin.
Jenny Afia, solicitor for the duchess, told the High Court the claim had been settled as the UK arm of the business had gone into administration in July.
She said the firm had agreed not to take any photos of Meghan, her husband the Duke of Sussex or Archie, should it come out of administration again.
It was the couple’s case that when the photographs were taken, Meghan and Archie were on “a private family outing in a remote rural setting” and there was no public interest in the photographs, Ms Afia told the court.
She added that the day before the photographs were taken, a Splash photographer made “a full reconnaissance inspection” of the couple’s home, looking to identify “entry and exit points and putting his camera over the fence to take photographs”.
Neil Allen, of the administrators of Splash, said on behalf of the agency: “I accept all that Ms Afia has said.”
The disputed images, which were used in British newspapers, were taken on Vancouver Island, close to the £10m mansion where Meghan and Harry were living.
The claim was brought by Meghan in her own right and by Harry, on behalf of Archie.
A spokesman for Schillings, Harry and Meghan’s legal representation, said: “This settlement is a clear signal that unlawful, invasive and intrusive paparazzi behaviour will not be tolerated and that the couple takes these matters seriously – just as any family would.
“A simultaneous and similar claim against Splash US, a sister company to Splash UK, continues to move forward in the British court system.”
The settlement is the latest chapter in a fractious relationship between the couple and sections of the media which began in the early period of their relationship.
Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers, publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline, over publication of a letter the duchess wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is the duke and duchess’s only child and has rarely been seen in public since his birth at London’s Portland Hospital on 6 May 2019.
Meghan and Harry stepped down from their royal duties at the end of March and are now based in Los Angeles.
