NANTERRE, France — A French court was asked Monday to halt further publication of topless photos of Prince William’s wife, Kate, even as an Italian magazine unveiled a 26-page spread of her. A ruling is expected Tuesday.
The royal request was made after Closer printed 14 pictures of the partially clad Duchess of Cambridge last week.
On Monday, the Italian gossip magazine Chi — like Closer, owned by Mondadori, the Italian publishing house owned by former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi — published photos of Kate without her swimsuit top. An Irish tabloid published more topless Kate photos over the weekend, drawing a vow from Ireland’s justice minister to revise privacy laws there.
The photos in question show Kate relaxing during a holiday at a private villa in Provence. William’s St. James’s Palace called the publications of the photos a “grotesque” invasion of the couple’s privacy. Lawyers for the royal couple argue that the photos amount to an invasion of privacy.
Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the country planned to introduce new privacy laws after the Irish Daily Star newspaper published the topless photographs.
“It is clear that some sections of the print media are either unable or unwilling in their reportage to distinguish between prurient interest and the public interest,” said Shatter, who announced that previously abandoned proposals for privacy legislation will be revived.
