Royals warn against paparazzi pictures of Prince George

The office of Prince William and his wife Kate warned on Friday that paparazzi attempts to photograph their son Prince George were becoming increasingly "alarming" and urged media to boycott their pictures.

In an open letter, Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf said that "a line has been crossed and any further escalation in tactics would represent a very real security risk" to the two-year-old prince.

"Prince George is currently their (the paparazzi's) number one target," said the letter. "We have made the decision to discuss these issues now as the incidents are becoming more frequent and the tactics more alarming." The royal couple guards the privacy of their children closely and George has only appeared in public five times, most recently at the christening of his younger sister Charlotte last month.

Most media publications have respected the family's wishes to only publish official photos of the prince, which have been released intermittently.

But some publications, mainly from abroad, have not.

In one incident last week, police apparently discovered a car parked near a children's play area in which a photographer had hung sheets to create what the palace called "a hide stocked with food and drinks to get him through a full day of surveillance."

The photographer was lying in the boot trying to take pictures with a long lens through a small gap.

"In a heightened security environment, such tactics are a risk to all involved," the letter said.

Other incidents detailed include multiple attempts to snap the prince in private parks, the monitoring of the movements of the prince and his nanny, the tailing of family vehicles and the use other children to draw George into view...