William and Kate demand £1.3m from magazine which published her topless pictures

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are demanding £1.3million in damages from those responsible for taking and selling photographs of Kate topless on holiday in France.

Their French barrister, Jean Veil, made the request for the huge sum of money in compensation on the first day of a criminal trial in the Paris suburb of Nanterre - where six defendants are on trial.

Mr Veil told the town’s Correctional Court that both William and Kate had suffered massively from repercussions following the use of the sneaky long-focus lens pictures.


He said they deserved damages and compensation amounting to 1.5million Euros (£1.3million) - in addition to ‘significant fines’ dished out to the guilty parties.

In the written declaration read by Mr Jean Veil, William said:

 'In September 2012, my wife and I thought that we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a member of my family, and thus enjoy our privacy.
'We know France and the French and we know that they are, in principle, respectful of private life, including that of their guests.
'The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy.'
William added that the images were ‘all the more painful’ given that his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was regularly stalked by paparazzi before her death in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
Mr Viel said the couple had ‘never consented to any pictures other than official ones’ and both had ambitions to ‘become King and Queen of England’ – a vocation that ‘comes with obligations’

The Duke and Duchess have personally asked for the huge sum from the French version of Closer magazine, which actually published the topless pictures of Kate.

The lawyer said William and Kate also wanted 42,000 pounds (50,000 euros) from La Provence, for publishing the sneak pictures without the Duchess showing off her breasts.


Mr Veil said the photos of Kate showing off her naked breasts on a hotel terrace had caused huge damage to the entire Royal Family.


Daily Mail