Prince William and Kate seek privacy for new baby princess

Prince William and his wife Kate have asked the paparazzi to respect the privacy of their new baby Princess Charlotte and the royal family.

The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge have taken their new-born and her 21-month-old brother Prince George to their country residence of Anmer Hall in Norfolk, east of England, on Queen Elizabeth II's Sandringham Estate.

The letter, undersigned by the couple's communications secretary and distributed by local Norfolk police, calls for "acts of harassment and breaches of privacy to cease."

"There have in the past been a number of intrusions into the privacy of the royal family which in the main have been as a result of professional photographers using long-distance lenses, not only to observe the royal family, but also to photograph them going about their activities on the estate," it said.

The Sandringham Estate trusts that there will not be a need to take any further action other than bringing these points to your attention.

Norfolk Police confirmed it was distributing letters on behalf of the royal couple but would not comment further.

Kate and William will spend the first few weeks of Charlotte's life in their refurbished Georgian mansion.

William is on two weeks paternity leave from his job as an air ambulance helicopter pilot and is expected to start the final phase of his training at the beginning of June.

Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom country retreat, was a gift to the couple from the Queen following their wedding.

The secluded red brick mansion is a short drive from the Queen's Sandringham House and recently underwent a 1.5 million pounds refurbishment overseen by the royal couple.

The duchess spent much of her pregnancy overseeing major renovations on the building, including the conversion of wood stores into accommodation for the nanny and the creation of a garden room.

The house, which already had a swimming pool and a tennis court, has a 500,000 pounds new roof, as well as a new kitchen, garden room, re-landscaped front driveway and new nursery for George and Charlotte. The renovations were paid for mostly from the royal family's private funds.