Royals ‘saddened’ by French mag’s topless Kate Middleton photos

KATE AND WILLIAM have put on a brave face on day four of their royal Asian tour after topless photos of the Duchess hit newsstands on the other side of the world.

They were told the news over breakfast that a French magazine planned to run photographs taken while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge holidayed on a private estate in the country last month.

A royal source said although the couple were “saddened and disappointed” they didn’t consider cancelling their first ever visit to a mosque that morning.

In keeping with Islamic tradition, Catherine arrived at the site near Kuala Lumpur’s landmark Petronas Twin Towers shrouded in a matching light-grey veil and floating chiffon dress by Beulah London.

Her conservative outfit was in sharp contrast to the shots, published by the French magazine Closer, of the duchess in just the bottoms of a black and white bikini.

Splashed on the front cover and inside on five pages, one of the grainy shots shows William rubbing sunscreen on Kate’s backside while in another Catherine appears to be taking her bikini top off.

The shots ran with the line: “Victoria’s Secret angels can stand aside”.

“They are very saddened that their privacy has been breached,” a royal source said on Friday morning.

“At the moment we haven’t been in a position to confirm that the photos are genuine.”

The source said lawyers for the royal family were talking to counterparts in France to see what options would be available to them.

“It’s very disappointing; it’s very saddening. We have turned the clock back 15 years,” the source said.

The comment was a reference to the death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 after being hounded for years by the media, even after her divorce from Charles and often while she was on holiday.

William and Kate had been staying in Provence at a chateau owned by Lord Linley.

“We have always maintained the position that the duke and duchess deserve their privacy, not the least when they are on holiday in their own swimming pool,” the royal source said.

British newspapers were reportedly offered the photographs last week but turned them down.

The pictures are bound to restart the row over privacy that raged around Prince Harry last month when embarrassing images emerged of him frolicking naked at a Las Vegas hotel.

William and Kate’s visit to the Assyakirin Mosque was considered one of their more significant stops as it marks the first time of them have been inside an Islamic place of worship.

It was meant to signal the importance the couple place on inter-faith relationships, although it has now be overshadowed.

After visiting the mosque, the couple were met by screaming crowds of more than 10,000 at Kuala Lumpur’s KLCC park.

Families had been waiting in the 30 degree heat since early morning and despite the scandal erupting abroad William and Kate took the time to shake hands and chat.

Later they went to a Tea Party hosted by the British High Commissioner to Malaysia.

On Saturday the royal couple will travel to a Borneo jungle as part of their nine-day whirlwind Diamond Jubilee tour of southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

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