A FURIOUS Prince William had to step in and protect Kate Middleton after the Duchess of Cambridge was “harassed” on the day of her birthday, a documentary reveals. In 2007, rumors began spreading that Prince William might finally propose to his university sweetheart, Kate Middleton, on her 25th birthday on January 9. Portrait tea towels of the royal couple were already being printed and, as Kate walked to her car to set off for her work morning, around 30 paparazzi gathered outside her Chelsea flat.
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Photographers and journalists were desperate to get pictures or statements from Prince William's girlfriend because they all thought that it was going to be the announcement day.
According to the 2011 documentary “Chasing the Royals”, the frightening scenes angered Prince William.
The narrator said: "An angry Prince William issued a statement to the press, to stop harassing his girlfriend. A spokesman for the Prince said at the time: "Prince William is very unhappy at the paparazzi harassment of his girlfriend.
"He wants, more than anything, for it to stop.
"Miss Middleton should, like any other private individual, be able to go about her everyday business without this kind of intrusion.
Although the photographer's presence was unprecedented, Kate's parents, Michael and Carole, were also reportedly incredibly worried that her daughter was regularly being followed by up to half a dozen paparazzi on a daily basis.
In 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that Queen Elizabeth II finally "authorized a crackdown on the paparazzi" amid intrusions into the private lives of the royal family.
The monarch and Prince Charles instructed Gerrard Tyrrell, a senior lawyer specializing in privacy and media law, to mastermind the privacy strategy.
Mr Tyrrell is known to have briefed senior royal aides on a series of options in the event of photographers continuing to take photographs of the royal family in "private" situations.