Kate Middleton and Prince William, the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge, have demanded the equivalent of £1.3million from those responsible for taking and selling topless photos of Kate.
Six defendants are currently on trial and the royal couple’s French barrister, Jean Veil, made the request on the first day of the criminal trial in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Veil told the town’s Correctional Court that both William and Kate had suffered massively from the sneak long-lens pictures taken while they were on holiday in the south of France in 2012.
Kate and William have also asked for 1.5 million euros (1.3 million pounds) from Closer magazine, which published the topless photos of Kate. In addition, they are also seeking £42,000 (50,000 euros) from La Provence for publishing the pictures without the Duchess showing her breasts.
Prince William was reportedly pushing for prosecution since the start of this ordeal.
The pictures were taken in September 2012 when the couple were on holiday at a chateau owned by Viscount David Linley, the son of the late Princess Margaret. Closer and La Provence published the photos that same month. One photo features Kate topless and having sunscreen rubbed on her by William.
Laurence Pieau, the editor of Closer, Ernesto Mauri, chief executive of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, and Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides, two Paris-based photographers will appear on charges of invasion of privacy and complicity.
Both photographers have denied taking the photos though they each received significant payoffs after the images were published.
The trial is ongoing.
