THE PUBLICATION of topless photographs of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, by a French celebrity magazine brings back “the worst excesses” of the treatment meted out to Princess Diana 15 years ago, the British royal family has said.
The photographs of the duchess were taken last week as she sunbathed with her husband, Prince William, at a private property in the south of France before the two embarked on a royal tour of south Asia a few days later.
Last night St James’s Palace announced it will sue Closer magazine before the French courts, which the couple seems likely to win because of France’s strict privacy laws.
However, the magazine – which sought yesterday to defend itself by saying it had portrayed a young couple in love – appears to have decided that the €45,000 maximum fine will be more than offset by the publicity and the revenue from selling the photographs.
St James’s Palace said the couple were “hugely saddened” that their privacy had been invaded “in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner”, and that they had had “every expectation of privacy in a remote house”.
“The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the duke and duchess for being so,” it said.
Privately, the royal couple, who are halfway through a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, as part of Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee celebrations, are said to be filled with “anger and disbelief”.
The magazine’s editor, Laurence Pieau, described the couple’s anger as “disproportionate”.
“These photos are not in the least shocking. They show a young woman sunbathing topless, like the millions of women you see on beaches.”
