Now, Italian Magazine Publishes Nude Photos of Kate Middleton

An Italian magazine published more topless photos of Kate Middleton on Sept. 17, becoming the third European publication to do so.

The magazine Chi published a 26-page spread of grainy, telephoto-lens photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless in France.

The British royals are trying to stop publication of more photos by the French magazine, Closer, which is owned by a company controlled by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The same company owns Chi, which published its spread with the headline “The Queen is Nude.”

The Palace of St. James contends that the 200 or so photos of Middleton, apparently taken by a single paparazzo, violate her privacy and that the photographer trespassed on the private French estate where Middleton and her husband, Prince William, were vacationing.

Some of the photos obtained by Closer were republished last week by the Irish Daily Star. In response, the tabloid newspaper’s co-owner, British media baron Richard Desmond, has threatened to pull out of the joint venture that owns the paper, which could lead to its shutting down.

Although the photos are easily available around the world to anyone with an Internet connection, no British media source has been willing to defy the Royal Family and publish them on its own.