Well, the party was fun while it lasted. Now, the French tabloid Closer will have to part with all of their nudie pics of Kate Middleton.
A court in Nanterre, France ordered the magazine to hand over every single topless photo within 24 hours after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge filed a civil suit against the publication, the Associated Press reports.
If the magazine refuses to give up the photos, it will have to pay the court $13,100 per day. Closer also must pay $2,000 towards the royals’ legal fees. The mag faces a separate ruling for damages owed to the royal couple.
The court’s ruling stated:
“These snapshots which showed the intimacy of a couple, partially naked on the terrace of a private home, surrounded by a park several hundred meters from a public road, and being able to legitimately assume that they are protected from passers-by, are by nature particularly intrusive. [They] were thus subjected to this brutal display the moment the cover appeared.”
Closer published several topless photos of Middelton last Friday. The Italian tabloid Chi, which is published by Silvio Berlusconi’s media company Mondadori, followed up with publishing dozens more nude photos on Monday.
Chi may face similar legal action, but Editor Alfonso Signorini said that he was not concerned with impending legal action because Italian laws protect paparazzi for taking photos of people on public ground.
Dublin newspaper the Irish Daily Star will also likely face legal action for reprinting the same Closer photos.
Kate and William also filed a criminal suit against the photographer who took the photographs, as well as Closer’s editor. Both men could face jail time if convicted of violating French privacy laws.