Potential Lawsuit of the Day: The Royals Are Enraged Over Topless Pics of Kate Middleton

Do the royals have an actionable claim over the Duchess of Cambridge's topless pictures?

Ever since the royal wedding last April, the male population writ large has been obsessed with Pippa Middleton’s greatest asset. (Seriously, there’s an entire website dedicated to it.) How dare she steal the spotlight from her sister, Kate Middleton, the blushing bride. But now, more than a year later, it seems that the Duchess of Cambridge herself has given British blokes something to inspire late night thoughts in their bachelor pads, albeit inadvertently: topless pictures.

A French magazine, Closer, took the photos while Kate was vacationing with Prince William, and published them in its latest issue for all the world to see. Needless to say, the royals are positively pissed, because this is the third instance of noble nudity in less than a month. Palace officials took a break from their tea and crumpets to threaten legal action for what they’re calling a “grotesque” invasion of privacy.

But given their celebrity status, are the royals really deserving of the same privacy rights as we commoners?

Of course they are — they’re entitled to the same level of privacy as all the rest of us. If Kate Middleton chooses to prance around topless while at a family estate, then so be it. Some things just aren’t meant to be seen by the public eye. And at this point, maybe they won’t be — the magazine’s website is under such a heavy strain that at times “[l]a page web n’est pas disponible.” (That’s basically a French 404 error.)

Check out this picture of Kate removing her bikini top that someone managed to grab before the site died. Not too racy, but if you do a quick Google search, you can see the Duchess in all her glory.

Here’s more from CNN on the potential privacy row that’s currently brewing in Britain:

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Officials are consulting with lawyers on what options may be available to the couple, he said. …

St. James’s Palace officials told CNN they “believe a red line has been crossed” and are consulting with French lawyers.

Closer, on the other hand, doesn’t think that’s the case, and contends that no such line was crossed. An unidentified source at the magazine noted that, “If two public figures chose to strip off in full view of a public road then they can expect to be pictured, and they were.”

According to the New York Times, however, the royal pair may have a strong case against Closer under French privacy laws. Jean-Frédéric Gaultier, an Olswang partner, noted that Kate and William may be able to get an injunction that would force the magazine to pull the issue with the topless photos, and to prevent the sale of the offending pictures to any other media outlets. And you can bet your last pound that there’ll be damages.

But until the photos get pulled, you can keep trying to refresh the Closer website to see them — just make sure to do it with your pinkies up, it’s just classier that way.

‘Saddened’ UK royals consider legal action over topless pictures of Catherine [CNN]
Britain Rebukes Magazine for Publishing Images of Topless Kate Middleton [New York Times]

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