The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend an official dinner hosted by Malaysia's Head of State Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah of Kedah at the Istana Negara on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The duchess' evening gown, by Alexander McQueen, features the Malaysian flower, hibiscus, in gold detail.
Catherine and Prince William watch demonstrations as they attend a cultural event in Queenstown on Wednesday.
A young girl gives flowers to Catherine on Wednesday.
Prince William and Catherine visit Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday.
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
will n kate 10
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
William and Kate visit Far East
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Italy's Chi magazine will run a 26-page special with the topless photos, publisher says
- Clarence House declines to comment on Chi magazine's plans
- Palace officials have launched legal action against French magazine that ran the images
- Ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's daughter is chairwoman of Mondadori, publisher of Chi and Closer
London (CNN) -- An Italian magazine said Saturday it plans to publish more photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless, a day after palace officials launched legal action against a French magazine over the images.
The publication of the photos in the French Closer magazine sparked an angry response from the royal couple and palace officials Friday.
William and Catherine were said to be "hugely saddened" by what palace officials called a "grotesque" invasion of privacy while they were on a private vacation.
St. James's Palace confirmed Friday that "legal proceedings for breach of privacy have been commenced today in France by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against the Publishers of Closer Magazine France."
Carmen Mugione, a spokeswoman for Mondadori, the parent company of Closer France and Chi magazines, told CNN Saturday that Chi plans to run 26 pages of photographs of the couple on holiday in a special edition on Monday.
Some Italian news websites carried an image of what appeared to be Chi's front cover, showing three revealing pictures of Catherine.
Established in 1995, Chi sells more than 340,000 copies a week, according to Mondadori's website. Mondadori's chairwoman is Marina Berlusconi, daughter of Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned from office last year under pressure.
Clarence House told CNN it had no comment on the reports from Italy.
The latest controversy comes only three weeks after the British royal family was caught up in a media furor over images of William's younger brother, Prince Harry, partying naked in his Las Vegas hotel room with a group of girls.
William and Kate, who are on an official tour of southeast Asian nations, were in Borneo Saturday, where they escaped from the outside world on a rainforest trek. Catherine was "upset" with Closer magazine, a palace source told CNN.
They will travel on to the Solomon Islands Sunday on the next leg of a tour that has been overshadowed by the furor over the photographs.
The grainy pictures published by Closer in France appear to have been taken with a long camera lens while the couple was staying at a private chateau in Provence, in southern France.
William and Catherine were "hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner," a St. James's Palace spokesman said.
The new privacy controversies have dredged up the royal family's often rocky relationship with the press and put a spotlight on how the palace deals with the media after the tragic death of William's mother, Diana, as she fled photographers in Paris 15 years ago.
"The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so," the palace spokesman said.
"Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them."
Laurence Pieau, editor-in-chief of Closer in France, defended the decision to publish the images in an interview with CNN affiliate BFM-TV, saying: "We were just doing our job."
Pieau said that there had been no debate at the magazine over whether to publish the photos and that she believes they are not degrading, as "they are just like any other couple in love."
William, who is second in line to the throne, and his wife were in Malaysia when the news broke, part way through a nine-day Southeast Asian tour of Commonwealth nations, which started in Singapore and will conclude with a stop in Tuvalu.
The Asia tour forms part of diamond jubilee celebrations for the queen, William's grandmother.
British lawyer Charlotte Harris said Friday that Closer's decision to publish was a clear breach of French legal codes and was out of line with current views on people's right to privacy.
"The perception of the French was that they are less aggressive, that they have a culturally different opinion of where privacy laws should lie. Here they appear to have gone right over the other way," she said.
French law provides for "draconian sanctions" to protect against this kind of behavior, she said, including orders to take magazines off shelves and the imposition of serious fines.
But even if distribution of the images is contained to a degree, Harris said, the damage is done to the extent that very private information about the duchess has now become public knowledge.
No UK newspaper has so far published the photographs and the
In the case of Prince Harry, the photographs were widely circulated online but were published in only one UK tabloid, The Sun, after palace officials asked UK media not to run them.
The Sun has made clear that it won't publish the pictures of Catherine, however. Editor Dominic Mohan tweeted: "The Sun has no intention of breaching the royal couple's privacy. The circumstances are very different to those relating to the photos of Prince Harry in Las Vegas."
The Press Complaints Commission, the UK press watchdog, received about 3,800 complaints from the public over the Prince Harry photos but said it was inappropriate for it to take any action in the absence of a formal complaint from the palace.
Royal officials appear to be taking publication of the photographs of William and Catherine much more seriously.
CNN's Per Nyberg contributed to this report.
15 Sep, 2012
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Source:
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