A French magazine on Friday published topless pictures ofthe latest entrant to the British royal family, Kate Middleton, raising hacklesin Buckingham Palace which threatened legal action.
The celebrity magazine 'Closer' printed grainy pictures of30-year-old Kate, now Duchess of Cambridge, topless at the terrace of a Frenchchateau which were taken during the Royal couple's holiday last week in France,The Sun reported.
The magazine published four photographs of the couple withKate topless in most of them with a caption 'See...future Queen of England asyou have never seen her...and as you will never see her again'.
The tabloid said that William and Kate were staying inProvence at a chateau owned by Lord Linley, the Queen's nephew, ahead of theirDiamond Jubilee tour of Asia-Pacific and were told about the magazine's plan topublish the photos during breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Declaring the publishing of the photos as amounting to"crossing the red line" a dismayed St James Palace in a statementdescribed the act by the magazine as "grotesque and totallyunjustifiable".
The royal statement likened the publication of the photos tothe treatment meted out by media to William's late mother, Diana, Princess ofWales.
"Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened tolearn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacyin such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner," the statement said.
"The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses ofthe press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and allthe more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so," it said.
The Sun quoting royal sources said officials acting onbehalf of the royal couple are consulting with lawyers to consider what optionsmay be available to them.
It has emerged that British newspapers were offeredphotographs last week but turned them down.
The printing of photos of topless Kate which comes close onthe heels of the splashing of pictures of a naked Prince Harry, Kate'sbrother-in-law taken in a Las Vegas hotel room last month is likely to cause amajor storm, the tabloid said.
The royal couple are touring the globe as part of theQueen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
They are on a nine-day trip that started in Singapore.
After visiting a mosque in Kuala Lumpur today they areexpected to move to the Solomon Islands over the weekend and later Tuvalu.
