A French magazine is now facing a legal battle over naked photos of Kate Middleton, England’s Duchess of Cambridge.
Closer magazine published a handful of photos featuring a topless Middleton, taken while she was on vacation with her husband Prince William. The British Royal Family threatened the magazine with legal action as soon as the pictures surfaced, and appear to be following through with a full lawsuit. A statement on behalf of St. James Palace was released, confirming that “legal proceedings for breach of privacy have been commenced today in France by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against the publishers of Closer Magazine France.”
The lawsuit coincides with the couple’s tour of South East Asia and the South Pacific, but in their absence, UK media outlets have been highly critical of Closer’s decision to run the photos, and viewing them as highly invasive of the royal family’s privacy. When asked for his opinion on the nude photo scandal, Dominic Mohan, editor for British newspaper The Sun, said the newspaper “has no intention of breaching the royal couple’s privacy by publishing these intrusive pictures.”
“I have rarely heard quite such a level of publicly expressed anger that I have heard today reflecting William’s feelings,” said BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell. “He is absolutely determined to protect the privacy of his wife, he has always been very protective of her and that anger has mounted during the day.”
It has also been suggested that a difference between French and British opinions on nudity could have led to the publishing, as French media outlets tend to be less strict on nudity. Closer’s editor Laurence Pieau spoke out against the criticism, and defended her choice to run the photos.
“She’s a young woman who is topless just like the ones who can be see on all the beaches of France and the world. It’s a member of the British Royal Family. There have been pictures before that,” she told the BBC. “She’s a topless princess. There have been others. It’s really not new.”