Prince William and Kate Middleton are stepping out again after rekindling their romance, posing a conundrum for the British media: to publish or not to publish photos of the possible future queen?
Reports that the couple, both aged 25, were in Scotland together this weekend have pushed the issue back to the top of the agenda for editors, for whom royal courtship has always been a big seller.
The prince and his girlfriend split in April, but reportedly revived their four-year relationship several months ago and made their first appearance in public together since then earlier this month, leaving a London nightclub.
The outing brought into focus once again the privacy issues which bubbled throughout their time together. It also came at a particularly sensitive time for William, days after the inquest into his mother Diana, princess of Wales' death started.
Diana, her lover Dodi Fayed and their chauffeur Henri Paul, who was over the legal alcohol limit, were killed by a car crash in a Paris tunnel in August 1997 while being pursued by press photographers.
William and Middleton, who met while studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, were chased by photographers on motorcycles as they left Boujis nightclub in chic South Kensington in a chauffeur-driven car.
The incident prompted Paddy Harverson, spokesman for the man second in line to the throne, to issue a rare statement condemning the "aggressive pursuit," adding: "It seems incomprehensible, particularly at this time, that this behaviour is still going on."
Most British newspapers declined to publish the pictures of the couple, although Britain's biggest-selling daily, The Sun, was among a handful which did.
Britain has no privacy laws, although an individual can seek redress under human rights legislation -- which also protects the right to freedom of expression -- if they feel their privacy has been infringed.
Patrick Jephson, Diana's former private secretary, raised the possibility that the furore may have been used to push for tougher laws, in an interview with CBS television in the United States.
"There are those who are perhaps rather cynically thinking this is William's press spokesman trying to encourage a bit of favorable publicity for more tight privacy laws here," he said.
Now might be a good time to draw attention to the privacy issue thanks to the judicial hearing in London into the deaths of Diana and Fayed, he added.
"The inquest has been headline news... and shows no sign of becoming less important during the next few months," he said.
"So if you were going to make a point about press relations with the royal family, now is the time to do it."
The British media's behaviour is policed by the Press Complaints Commission, which is bankrolled by newspapers and encourages journalists to follow a voluntary code of practice.
The PCC has urged newspaper and magazine editors not to publish photographs taken as a result of "harassment" and Middleton secured an apology from the Daily Mirror tabloid in March after complaining to it about "intrusive" photographs of her walking to work.
While many of Britain's notoriously-brash tabloids regularly push the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, comments from the editor of one of them earlier this week suggest some may be moderating their attitudes.
The Mail on Sunday's Peter Wright told a committee of lawmakers that it was "not right" for photographers to follow William and Middleton around the clock.
"This is something we all have to look at very carefully," he told a select committee, in comments quoted by The Guardian.
"I have been giving a lot of thought over the last year to the situation of Prince William and Kate Middleton and I think there is a strong case that photographers following somebody all day every day whatever they are doing is not right."
The Mail on Sunday's sister paper, the Daily Mail, withdrew the paparazzi photographs of the couple leaving the nightclub from its front page following Harverson's complaint.
But Wright also said he thought it was fair for William to be photographed in the street in that situation, indicating the fine line which the media will have to tread.
On Friday it was reported that the couple had arrived at Aberdeen airport, before heading off together to Queen Elizabeth II's private Balmoral estate. It was unclear if paparazzi are on their tails in Scotland.
The wrangling over the media rights and wrongs is likely to continue as long as the couple keep dating amid intense press and public speculation about whether they will marry.
Bookmakers William Hill have stopped taking bets on whether they will get engaged and make 2009 the most likely year for the announcement.
