The French edition of Closer magazine has lost its appeal to reprint topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge
Kate Middleton can breathe a sigh of relief today after a court ruled that the French edition of Closer magazine is banned from reprinting topless photos of her on holiday.
The weekly title went to the French courts seeking to overturn an injunction issued in September last year, which prevented the celebrity gossip magazine from publishing the intimate pictures again and from selling them on to another source.
However, Closer and its publisher, the Mondadori Group, has now lost its appeal, clearing the way for the French authorities to push on with a criminal investigation into how the pictures were obtained.
The unauthorised images, which showed Kate and husband Prince William holidaying at a private chateau in the south of France, were first published in the magazine, as well as the Italian title Chi and similar magazines in Denmark and Sweden, in September 2012 to uproar from the royal family and the public.
Unfortunately for the couple, an injunction to ban their publication came too late – four days after they went to print in Closer and hit newsstands – although it did allow the British royals to obtain the original images to prevent further publication.
In April it was revealed that two people had been charged with invasion of privacy in France over the topless photos scandal. They are believed to be photographer Valerie Suau, whose images were reportedly printed in the La Provence newspaper, and Ernesto Mauri, the head of the Mondadori Group.
Neither Closer magazine nor a representative for Kate and William has so far commented on the latest developments.
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