BRITAIN’S PRINCE WILLIAM and the Duchess of Cambridge are said to be “saddened” by news that a French gossip magazine is to publish fully topless pictures of the Duchess at a swimming pool in a private French chateau.
The French edition of ‘Closer’ magazine said the photographs of the former Kate Middleton – taken while the royal couple were staying at a chateau owned by William’s cousin Lord Linley, in Provence – would appear in its latest issue released today.
The couple had been staying at the chateau during a brief holiday earlier this summer, ahead of their tour of Asia and the South Pacific on behalf of Queen Elizabeth to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee.
This morning St James’s Palace said it was considering its legal options over the intended publication of the photographs – amid speculation that it could look for an urgent injunction to stop the magazine being distributed today.
A teaser version of the magazine’s front page published on Closer’s website shows pixelated images of a woman purporting to be Kate, who is clearly topless.
Sky News quoted a royal source in Kuala Lumpur, where the royal couple are currently touring, as saying the publication of the photos would “turn the clock back 15 years” – a reference to the intense media scrutiny of the personal life of William’s mother, Princess Diana, before her death.
A royal spokesman said the two were “very angered” and felt that a “red line had been crossed” in the publication of the photos, which appeared to have been shot from some distance using a long-lens camera.
The Daily Telegraph carried comments from the editor of Closer, Laurence Pieau, who said the photographs meant William’s younger brother Prince Harry would feel “less alone” following the controversy surrounding the publication of photos showing him naked at a party in Las Vegas.
The timing of the release is even more challenging for the couple, as it comes while they visit a series of Islamic countries – where the Duchess has been wearing a headscarf – for their jubilee world tour.
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