Updates

Furious Royals sue over topless Kate photos

Via

News Desk

Updated on September 14, 2012

Comment

See more articles on:

get top stories via email

On Friday, the British royal family filed a lawsuit against a French magazine for publishing topless photos of Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton, citing a “grotesque” invasion of privacy.

The release was linked by St James’s Palace to Diana, Princess of Wales’ worst encounters with the paparazzi.

“St James’s Palace confirms that legal proceedings for breach of privacy have been commenced today in France by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against the editor and publishers of Closer magazine, France,” a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement.

The duo was “visible from the street” according to Closer’s editor.

The palace was in the forefront of a chorus of objections, calling the violation of privacy “grotesque and totally unjustifiable”

Closer is published by Mondadori MOED.MI, an Italian company partly owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and chaired by his daughter Marina. Lawyers said the case will be difficult to defend, although profits from the issue are likely to far outweigh any fine imposed, which will likely be in the thousands of euros.

“It is, without a doubt, an invasion of privacy,” said Christopher Mesnooh, a lawyer from the United States who works in France.

The pictures were published on the front page and five inside pages
via BBC

But Laurence Pieau, the editor of Closer, stood firm in her decision to publish the photos, stating that they were “nothing degrading” and that she couldn’t understand the couple’s response in an interview with the French radio station Europe 1.

“There’s been an over-reaction to these photos. What we see is a young couple, who just got married, who are very much in love, who are splendid,” Pieau told French television station BFM.

“She’s a real 21st century princess,” she added: “It’s a young woman who is topless, the same as you can see on any beach in France or around the world.”

According to French media lawyer Jean Frederic Gaultier of Olswangs, the magazine may face a fine of up to €45,000 (£36,000) and the editor might be imprisoned for up to 12 months under French penal law.

“There could be a case for criminal action, if the photographs are taken or a voice is recorded in a private place without the people knowing. They were in a private place, so in my view this was a breach of law,” said Gaultier.

The BBC’s Nicholas Witchell said he had rarely seen the palace express such public outrage over such an occurrence, and that this outrage matched Prince William’s thoughts on the subject.

The release reopens a discussion about the royal family’s privacy and press freedom weeks after a U.S. website revealed blurry images of William’s younger brother Harry cavorting nude in a Las Vegas hotel room, eliciting mostly furious responses on Twitter.