Media - Kate Wins in French Court

The French magazine Closer, which published topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, must hand over the original pictures and pay a 10,000-euro ($13,000) fine each time the images are published again, a French court ruled.

Judge Jean- Michel Hayat said in the ruling today in Nanterre, France the duchess, Kate, and husband Prince William had a legitimate expectation of privacy when the photos were taken during their vacation because they were “surrounded by gardens and several hundred meters from a public road,”

The tabloid was ordered to pay Kate 2,000 euros in expenses and an additional 10,000 euros each day it fails to turn over the images.

The royal family has also asked for a criminal case to be started against the unidentified photographer.

The dispute comes three weeks after News Corp. Sun tabloid in Britain broke with traditional practice by publishing images of Prince Harry, William’s brother, naked at a party in Las Vegas. Those photos, initially published online by the U.S. website TMZ.com, may have inspired Closer.

The princes’ mother, Diana Princess of Wales, died in a Paris car crash 15 years ago while being pursued by French tabloid paparazzi on motorbikes.