Veteran Sun photographer Arthur Edwards told MPs he had been horrified by images seen in January of photographers crowding around Kate Middleton outside her home on her birthday.
He said: “I felt very sorry for that girl.
I just didn’t want anything to do with that.
“When I saw the pictures the next day with a girl with a camera right up to her face I was horrified,” he said.
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“When I saw the pack break and they all surrounded her I felt awful about that and it does remind me of what happened to Princess Diana and I hope we don’t make that same mistake again.
“I think we should pull back a bit and start to look at this girl’s life.
“She’s a private citizen, she needs a bit of space, she’s in love with Prince William – I’m sure of that and I’m sure one day they’ll get married and I’ve talked to William about this.”
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Edwards said the Royals had been “open season” for The Sun in the 1980s but that his job was very different now.
Describing the treatment of Princess Diana towards the end of her life, he said it was a “feeding frenzy”.
“After her death – where photographers pursuing her car had something to do with it, I believe – I certainly looked at what I was doing and how I approached and photographed the royals.”
But he added: “When celebrities appear in newspapers I just think a lot of it is brought on themselves.
“They call the papers, get in there and, by and large, they enjoy it. It helps them sell their music and their films.”
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