It's a moral victory for the royals.
As Prince William and
wife Kate continue their Diamond Jubilee antics in the Far East, AP is
reporting that although the magazine has been on the newsstands since
Friday, a French court has ordered the publisher of Closer to
hand over all its digital copies of topless photos of the Duchess of
Cambridge within 24 hours, and the court blocked the further publication
of the images.
Under the ruling, Closer,
which proudly printed 14 photos of partially clad Kate enjoying some
sunshine with her hubby, Prince William, cannot publish the images of
an intimate moment in the south of France any further, including on its
website and tablet app. The mag will face a daily fine of about $13,000
if it doesn't comply.
If the royal family had hoped to block
international publication, it's too late. Publications in Ireland and
Italy already have put them into circulation. Tuesday's ruling only
affects French publisher, Montedori Magazines France.
"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," the
French ruling decreed. "(They) were thus subjected to this brutal
display the moment the cover appeared."
The ruling listed the
royal couple by their full names: William Arthur Philip Louis
Mountbatten-Windsor and Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.
Maud Sobel, a lawyer for the royal couple, described it as "a wonderful decision," adding, "We've been vindicated."
The
case is the first of two legal actions by the British royals. In a
reflection of just how intent they are on protecting their privacy --
and likely dissuading paparazzi from future ventures -- St. James's
Palace said family lawyers would be filing a criminal complaint.
Christopher
Mesnooh, an American lawyer who works in Paris, noted to AP that while
the ruling is vindication for the royal family, the money fine isn't
enough to dissuade publication of similar photos.
"If you sell 100,000 copies, you're ahead of the game," he noted.
USA Today