LONDON - Prince William and his wife Kate are threatening to take legal action against a photographer they say has been monitoring their toddler son Prince George.

The palace said Thursday the couple had "taken legal steps to ask that an individual ceases harassing and following both Prince George and his nanny as they go about their ordinary daily lives.''

In a statement, the palace said the unnamed photographer was suspected of "placing Prince George under surveillance.''

William and Kate, who are expecting their second child, want to spare their children intense press coverage.

William's late mother, Princess Diana, was pursued by photographers for years before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

In 2012, a French magazine angered the palace by publishing photos of Kate sunbathing topless.

Prince George spends first birthday with butterflies	William, Kate and George tour Sydney's Taronga Zoo