guardian.co.uk,
Lisa O'Carroll and agencies, Saturday 15 September 2012
 |
| The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are suing Closer magazine over the publication of topless photos of the duchess. Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP |
An Italian
magazine is set to follow a French publication in printing topless photographs
of the Duchess of Cambridge.
Gossip
magazine Chi is understood to be planning a 26-page photo special of the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge on holiday in the south of France, to run in an
edition next week, according to the BBC.
Despite St
James's Palace describing the publication of the photos of Kate in French
magazine Closer on Friday as a "grotesque and totally unjustifiable"
invasion of privacy, and the announcement that the royal couple will sue its
publishers, unconfirmed reports said Chi still planned to print the images.
Editor
Alfonso Signorini said: "The fact that these are the future rulers of
England makes the article more interesting and topical. This is a deserving
topic because it shows in a completely natural way the daily life of a very
famous, young and modern couple in love."
Both Chi
and the French edition of Closer are published by the Mondadori media group,
which is owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge have launched legal proceedings in France against the
Closer magazine, which published photographs of the duchess sunbathing topless,
in a bid to stop any future invasion of the royal couple's privacy.
St James's
Palace said in a statement on Friday: "St James's Palace confirms that
legal proceedings for breach of privacy have been commenced today in France by
the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against the editor and publishers of Closer
magazine, France."
Earlier on
Friday, in another strongly worded statement, the palace said the royal couple
were hugely saddened by what it described as a "grotesque and totally
unjustifiable" invasion of their privacy.
St James's
Palace was unequivocal in its condemnation of Closer. "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.
"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."
The magazine's
publication of the intrusive pictures re-ignited memories of the pursuit of the
duke's mother, Princess Diana, by paparazzi on the night of her death in a
high-speed car accident in a Paris tunnel.
Legal
action will be taken under French privacy law, considered the toughest in
Europe, with potential for both civil and criminal cases.
French
media lawyer Jean Frederic Gaultier of Olswangs said under French criminal law,
the magazine could face a fine of up to €45,000 (£36,000) and the editor could
be jailed for up to 12 months.
"There
could be a case for criminal action, if the photographs are taken or a voice is
recorded in a private place without the people knowing. They were in a private
place, so in my view this was a breach of law," said Gaultier.
He said it
was unheard of for an editor to be jailed and celebrity magazines in France are
generally willing to risk fines if the benefits of boosting circulation and
revenues outweigh any fines for breaching the law.
Over five
pages, Closer published what it described as exclusive pictures of the duchess
topless under the headline: "Oh my God – sex and sun en Provence."
The pictures were apparently taken on the terrace of a guest house during a
brief holiday with the duke in France last week.
Royal photographer
Harry Page told Sky News that from what he had seen, they were taken with long
lenses and the couple would have had no idea they were being photographed.
Closer
magazine defended its decision, with its editor-in-chief Laurence Pieau
describing the photos as a beautiful series that showed a couple in love and
saying they were in no way degrading.
She said
the magazine had more intimate shots from the same series that it opted not to
publish. "There's been an over-reaction to these photos. What we see is a
young couple, who just got married, who are very much in love, who are
splendid," Pieau told French TV news channel BFM.
"She's
a real 21st Century princess," she added: "It's a young woman who is
topless, the same as you can see on any beach in France or around the
world."
Closer
published a dozen shots of the duchess as she relaxed in Provence at a chateau
owned by Lord Linley, the Queen's nephew, ahead of the couple's diamond jubilee
tour of south-east Asia and the South Pacific on behalf of the Queen.
With a
cover headline Oh my God!, the photos show the couple soaking up the sun on the
balcony of a 19th-century hunting lodge, oblivious to lurking paparazzi.
They show
her taking off her bikini top, sunbathing on a sun lounger and at one point
pulled down the back of her bikini bottoms as Prince William applies sun cream.
Sources at
St James's Palace said they had no advance warning about the photos before
publication and by the time they learned of Closer's plans it was too late to
try and get an injunction to prevent the magazine going on sale in France on
Friday morning.
The
publication of the pictures is a blow to Buckingham Palace as it tries to move
on from a scandal over naked shots of Prince Harry that tarred the image of the
royal family, which had been bolstered by the duke and duchess's wedding, the
Queen's 2012 diamond jubilee and her surprise cameo in the London Olympics
opening ceremony.
Newspapers
in Britain were not offered the photographs publisher by Closer. They were
offered a different set of long-lens shots last week, but turned them down.
Publication
of the pictures was also condemned by Bauer, the owner of Closer magazine in
the UK, which had licensed Berlusconi's company to publish the French version.
The company demanded Closer remove the pictures from its website immediately
and in a veiled threat to sever ties with the publisher, said it was
"reviewing the terms of our licence agreement with Closer France".
"Like
our readers, we are appalled and regret the pain the publication of these
photographs has caused," said Paul Keenan, chief executive of Bauer media,
who said the company "deplore the publication of these intrusive and
offensive pictures".
Executives
on two national tabloids said the set of photos being touted around last week
were different. "They were also long lens, but you couldn't see anything.
These pictures nobody has seen, as far I am aware," one picture editor
said.
Page, a
photographer who has worked with national newspapers for the past 30 years,
said: "From what I have seen, these photos have been taken from a very
long way. Kate and William would have had no idea they were being taken.
"They
were on a 640-acre estate in the south of France. I think they would have
expected a certain degree of privacy. They were on a private holiday.
"Remember
the toe-sucking photos of Fergie [Sarah Ferguson], again in the south of
France. That is exactly 20 years ago this month and there was a scramble for
them. But now there is not a single newspaper in Britain who would publish
these pictures."
The royal
family only rarely and reluctantly resorts to legal action over media coverage,
despite being constantly in the spotlight. The Duchess of Cambridge has taken
action over invasion of privacy once before, receiving an apology, damages and
legal costs from picture agency Rex in March 2010 after it distributed photos
of her taken during a private holiday in Cornwall.
The Prince
of Wales won a protracted legal battle over privacy with the Mail on Sunday in
late 2006, when the court of appeal ruled that the paper had infringed his
copyright and confidentiality by publishing extracts from his private diaries
about the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
Princess
Diana sued the Sunday Mirror and Daily Mirror in 1993 over secretly-taken
pictures of her exercising in a gym and won an injunction against the
publishing preventing further publication. The Queen dropped legal action against
the Daily Mirror after a reporter breached royal security to work as a palace
footman in 2003,.
The
publication of the topless pictures of the duchess are also likely to be taken
into account by Lord Justice Leveson, who is currently drafting his final
report offering recommendations to the government on the future of press
regulation. The latest controversy will underline the difficulties any future
British regulator will have in controlling overseas internet publication of
content that can be viewed online in the UK.
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