Kate Middleton will begin legal action over the topless pictures taken of her sunbathing in a private villa while on holiday in France with her husband Prince William that were published in the French Closer magazine
However, Italian magazine Chi is planning to republish the topless pictures today, in a 26-page special that will further enrage the royal family. Chi will use the semi-naked Duchess as its cover shot, under the headline, ‘Scandal at court: the Queen is Naked’.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be taking legal action, lodging a complaint with French prosectors, who will then decide whether to pursue the case further. Kate will be seeking damages and an injunction to prevent the topless pictures being pubished elsewhere.
“The complaint concerns the taking of photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge whilst on holiday and the publication of those photographs in breach of their privacy,” a spokesperson for St James’s Palce said yesterday.
The photos were originally published in the French magazine Closer (not related to the UK version) and have also been republished in the Irish Daily Star.
Now, Italy’s Chi magazine, part of Mondadori media group owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, which also owns French Closer, said it would devote a special edition to the topless pictures of Kate Middleton.
According to Chi Editor in Chief, Alfonso Signorini, new unseen pitcures of the duchess will be included with the topless shots.
” It shows in a very natural way the daily life of a young and famous couple very much in love,” Signorini said.
“The fact that we are dealing with the future British monarchs makes it certainly more interesting and in line with a modern conception of the monarchy.”
British newsapers have backed the royal couple’s calls for privacy over the controversial pictures. Even The Sun, which printed pictures of Prine Harry naked on holiday in Vegas, has declined to publish the pitcures of Kate.
Irish Daily Star editor Mike O’Kane, however, defended his decision to publish the pictures, saying: “The Duchess would be no different to any other celeb pics we would get in, for example Rihanna or Lady GaGa.”
Image: Kate Middleton meets a young well-wisher as she attends a Women’s Reception at the Leaf House, Commonwealth Youth South Pacific Centre on day 7 of their Diamond Jubilee Tour, on September 17, 2012 in Honiara, Solomon Islands