A Royal lawyer last night tried to block further publication of ‘highly intimate’ topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge saying she is a ‘young woman, not an object’.
At the start of an unprecedented court case in Paris, barrister Aurelien Hammelle evoked memories of Princess Diana’s ordeal at the hands of paparazzi as he said a photographer had violated Kate’s privacy.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are suing the French Closer magazine for printing semi-naked pictures of Kate last week.
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In court: Aurelien Hammelle, the French lawyer instructed by William and Kate to fight against further publication of the photos, is seen at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre in Nanterre, France
Triggering the storm: French magazine Closer (left) was the first to publish the naked pictures of the Duchess. Now Aurelien Hammelle (right), the French lawyer, is challenging this at court in a suburb of Paris
The barefoot Royals: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived barefoot in Tavanipupu, Solomon Islands, during the latest leg of their South Pacific tour
Smiling: Kate arrives at the Marau landing strip to receive a traditional welcome on the Soloman Islands
It is the first time that a member of the Royal Family has sued a publication through the courts in France.
Yesterday Mr Hammelle accused the magazine of intruding on a ‘highly intimate moment’ by taking the topless pictures of Kate while she was on a private holiday at a chateau in Provence.
The lawyer compared the ‘grotesque invasion’ to the relentless pursuit of Princess Diana by photographers.
Mr Hammelle said the pictures of the Duchess were taken ‘just six days after the 15th anniversary of the useless, cynical and morbid hunt which led to the death of William’s mother’.
Battle: Delphine Pando (pictured left; wearing black), the lawyer acting for French Closer, at court. Also pictured (right) is experienced Valerie Suau, who is said to be 'in hiding'
Privacy row: The Tribunal de Grande Instance (above) in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris, has heard representations from the royals as they begin legal action against the publishers of French Closer magazine
Legal battleground: Lawyers for Kate and William appeared at this court in Paris to try to prevent further publication of topless photographs of the Duchess
He said the Royal couple wanted all editions of the magazine removed from the shops, and to ban further distribution of the photos.
The pictures were taken ‘in a highly intimate moment during a scene of married life and have no place on the cover of a magazine’, he said.
William and Kate have indicated that they are prepared to present evidence themselves, once they return from their royal tour in the Far East.
The lawyer told the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris that the couple could not have known they were being photographed and it would only have been possible to see them with a long lens.
He said Silvio Berlusconi’s company Mondadori, which owns the French edition of Closer, should be fined £8,000 per day if it fails to hand over the original digital images.
A judge is expected to decide whether to grant William and Kate an injunction over any further publication or sale of the pictures at midday today.
Surprisingly relaxed: Prince William and wife Kate wave to the crowds on a truck decorated as a canoe as they depart Honiara International Airport on the Solomon Islands
In good spirits: The royal couple laugh as warriors perform a traditional dance at Honiara International Airport as they vowed to prosecute those responsible for taking and printing the naked pictures
All smiles: Kate and William's Diamond Jubilee tour has been a huge success despite the problems that have dogged the couple
Not impressed: A furious Prince William revealed he wants those responsible for taking and printing the pictures of his wife to be jailed
TASTELESS ITALIAN MAGAZINE PUBLISHES TOPLESS PICTURES OF DUCHESS
Down market Italian magazine Chi has published 18 controversial pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on holiday.
And in a bizarre and at times embarrassing series of interviews its editor described Kate as a 'Greek goddess' and William as a 'fine figure of man.'
Alfonso Signorini, 48, went ahead with the publication despite calls from Buckingham Palace to respect the couple's privacy.
In a tasteless and trashy article accompanying the photos the magazine also commissioned a plastic surgeon Paolo Santanche to describe the Duchess’s body.
Signorini, 48, a former Latin teacher said: 'I really don't see what all the fuss is about. I don't see how a topless photo in 2012 can create all these scandal and controversy. Kate is a very beautiful woman. What is the problem - and William is also a fine figure of a man.
'All Kate is doing is sunbathing topless like millions of other women. They are a normal couple in love.'
The pictures are the same ones that were used in the French magazine Closer last week and which were taken while the couple were on holiday in a French chateau in Provence.
Signorini boasted: 'There were no scandalous pictures but if there were I would have run them.
'The Duchess was sunbathing topless on a terrace that looked out onto a public road. Anyone could have come along and taken her picture. Privacy only comes into it if you go onto someone else's property.
'What the pictures show is just a normal couple in love. I really don't see anything shocking or scandalous in publishing them.'
However, any fine is likely to be dwarfed by the amount the magazine has made over the past five days.
Most French newsagents have sold out and the magazine’s iPad application keeps crashing because so many are trying to view the pictures.
Yesterday the Duke and Duchess also started criminal proceedings against the photographer, or photographers, who took the pictures.
However, he or she may never appear before a court because of strict laws in France which protect media organisations from having to name their sources.
Some say the photographer was Valerie Suau who is known to have taken pictures of the Duke and Duchess on the same holiday. She has denied taking any topless shots.
Delphine Pando, representing Closer, claimed topless photographs were no longer considered shocking.
She also said the magazine did not hold the syndication rights to the pictures, so it could not be proved that it intended to republish them.
High and dry: Italian magazine Chi (left) announced it would publish a 26-page special of topless Kate Middleton using 50 images of the 200 in its possession as the Duke and Duchess legally battle to prevent other media outlets around the world from using the naked pictures of her on holiday in France
'THEY WILL FIGHT FOR YEARS IN COURT TO PURSUE THOSE RESPONSIBLE'
William and Kate are prepared to devote years to legal battles pursuing those responsible for the topless pictures – or those who publish them.
Sources close to the couple confirmed they were under no illusions about the length of time it could take for their fight to make its way through the Paris courts.
But they insist that the Duke and Duchess will press ahead because they feel so strongly about the invasion of their privacy.
This morning, the couple’s complaint against French Closer magazine – the first to publish the images – is to be heard at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
They have instructed Paris barrister Aurelien Hammelle to call for ‘the stiffest punishment possible’ against the magazine.
St James’s Palace said there were plans to press for criminal charges against the photographer – who has so far remained unidentified.
The Duke and Duchess are also considering action against the Irish edition of the Daily Star, which printed the pictures on Saturday.
Ajouté le 18/09/2012 par wenzhang -
