Man hiding with long lens for Prince George at play park

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released a statement warning paparazzi to keep out of Prince George's way and respect the privacy of the two-year-old.

Kensington Palace shared the statement after police caught a man hiding out in his car with a long lens waiting to capture an image of the 2-year-old Prince at a children's play park, according to Sky News.

The statement read: "The Duke and Duchess are glad that leaders in the media industry share the view that every child, regardless of their future public role, deserves a safe, happy, and private childhood."

"It is of course upsetting that such tactics - reminiscent as they are of past surveillance by groups intent on doing more than capturing images - are being deployed to profit from the image of a two-year-old boy."

They warned that this kind of behaviour will deter from security knowing if a person is a risk or just trying to take a photograph.

It continued: "In a heightened security environment such tactics are a risk to all involved. The worry is that it will not always be possible to quickly distinguish between someone taking photos and someone intending to do more immediate harm."