LONDON — Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have condemned photographers seen looking into the grounds of their children's new school in England, calling the behavior "extraordinarily reckless" as British police investigate the incident.

The security scare comes just weeks after the couple moved back to the United Kingdom with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, and as a government committee weighs whether the family should receive taxpayer-funded police protection.

Two men carrying backpacks were spotted by both private security and school staff walking the perimeter of the school, stopping at various points and staring into the grounds, according to reports. The men were initially seen separately and later observed together before returning to a white van, which police determined was a rental vehicle.

The men were later identified as photographers linked to a European press agency, according to U.K. news agency PA. One of them is understood to be an international press photographer.

The children have been at the school for only about two weeks. The incident has been passed on to the Home Office committee that is assessing the family's claim for official protection.

Sussexes' spokesperson responds

A spokesperson for the couple issued a sharply worded statement criticizing the photographers' conduct.

"The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless," the spokesperson said. "There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their........

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