One of the Duchess of Sussex's security guards allegedly had to swat away a drone that flew over her mansion, before she and the Duke and Sussex moved into their current home. The drone incident occurred in 2020, when Meghan and Harry were still living in Los Angeles, in a house owned by movie producer Tyler Perry. They now reside at an £11 million home in Montecito.
Mark Karloff, a veteran LA-based photographer, has said that one paparazzo was caught flying a drone just above the roof of Meghan and Harry's home, and was condemned widely for the alleged illegality, the Daily Star reports. Mr Karloff, who has been taking photographs of celebrities for 14 years, told the Daily Star that there could have been a 'big problem'.
He said: "The few photographers that have drones, we know who each other are, so we kind of chat about who did what and the days we did it. We realised that it was another guy, process of elimination I guess.
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"I heard the security guard saw them, saw the drone and tried to swat it out of the sky. Obviously if [Meghan] was in the backyard sunbathing, and they get something like that, then that would be a big problem."
SGR, a Los Angeles Criminal Defence Firm, has said that the allegation could potentially be illegal under various laws. These laws include trespassing and invasion of privacy by entering private land or airspace without permission.
After spotting drones, it has been revealed that Meghan and Harry were worried for their son, Archie, and his safety. The drone sighting happened before the couple had welcomed their daughter, Lilibet, into the world.
Mr Karloff has warned anyone attempting to fly a drone above the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's home that they could get into serious trouble. He said: "A drone will only see in front, so if someone is up there and they are flying, they can’t see what’s behind them, so if they are trying to hover around and they are in a close distance around there, anybody with a long stick or a hose, they could possibly knock it out of the sky, or even some sort of a weapon, a BB gun or a pellet gun.
"I heard that they were close enough to see the tiles on the roof. Even closer if there was a guy trying to swat it out of the sky, that has got to be close.
"I don’t know the guy. If you’re on the register, they catch the drone they know who is registered to it. If they catch the drone, physically have the drone, they could find out."
Mr Karloff was first informed of the drone incident by somebody who was trying to work out who the suspect was. He added: "He knows he is a photographer, he knows he can fly a drone on a job sometimes.
"He’d get the drone taken away. I would expect Harry and Meghan probably to prosecute as much as they could."
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