Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge shakes hands with well-wishers.LONDON – A French magazine on Friday published what appeared to be photos of Prince William’s wife Kate sunbathing topless at a private house in southern France, prompting a strong condemnation from the royal family.
Officials said the royal family was considering legal action for a “grotesque and totally unjustifiable” invasion of privacy in the same country where William’s mother Princess Diana died while fleeing paparazzi.
The couple was “saddened” by the use of the photos, which appear genuine, royal officials said.
The revealing pictures of Kate in Closer, a popular gossip magazine, were blurry and shot from a distance. The publication claimed they were taken on a guesthouse terrace in France where the couple vacationed earlier this month.
The first major press incident involving William and Kate brought back memories of Diana being hounded by paparazzi in France in the hours and days before her fatal car crash there in 1997.