After an Italian magazine hit newsstands Monday with more snaps of Kate Middleton sunbathing semi-nude, the British royal family is taking legal action.
Despite the palace beginning legal proceedings last week in France against the country’s magazine Closer for printing the revealing photos, glossy gossip mag Chi went to press with a 26-page spread of controversial photos of the Duchess of Cambridge topless while vacationing with her husband, Prince William, in the south of France. The two magazines are both owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s publishing house, Mondadori.
Now the lawyers for the royals are going to court — taking aim against the publications and the photographers.
The royal legal team is hitting back hard over the scandal, seeking damages from and an injunction against Mondadori to prevent further spread of the images, according to St. James’s Palace. They are pushing to have already printed images removed from the Internet, according to CNN. Last week, the lawyers began proceedings against Closer magazine, calling the snaps a “grotesque” and “totally unjustifiable” invasion of privacy.
Furthermore, lawyers for the royal family filed a criminal complaint in a Nanterre, France, court against the as-of-yet unidentified paparazzo, whom the palace claims breached the privacy of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But the publishing house has defended its decision to reproduce the pictures as a matter of editorial freedom.
“This is a feature that deserves a special edition given that it shows, in a wholly natural way, the daily life of a very famous young, modern and loving couple,” said Alfonso Signorini, editor in chief of Chi, in a statement. “That they happen to also be the future sovereigns of Great Britain certainly makes it more interesting, newsworthy and in line with a modern conception of monarchy.”
Meanwhile, Middleton is keeping with the British motto: Keep calm and carry on. As St. James’s Palace lawyers deal with the repercussions of her published topless photos, Middleton has been putting on a brave face alongside William as the royal couple continues their Diamond Jubilee tour through Southeast Asia.
Upon arriving in the Solomon Islands’ capital city, Honiara, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted warmly by swarms of locals the South Pacific nation. On Tuesday, the couple will go to the island of Tuvalu before heading back to the UK.
