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"St James&amp;#039;s Palace has confirmed that it has taken legal action against the publishers of French magazine Closer. The publication chose to run long-lens topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge while on holiday with Prince William.  Legal firm Harbottle &amp;amp; Lewis are said to be advising the royal family, with a spokesman for the Palace releasing a statement this afternoon (September 14). &amp;quot;St James&amp;#039;s Palace confirms that legal proceedings for breach of privacy have been commenced today in France by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against the publishers of Closer magazine France,&amp;quot; it read. Harbottle &amp;amp; Lewis also instructed the royal family on privacy issues following the publication of photos of Prince Harry playing &amp;quot;naked billiards&amp;quot; at a party in Las Vegas.  The Palace is said to be consulting French lawyers too, according to Legal Week. Earlier today, St James&amp;#039;s Palace described the magazine&amp;#039;s decision to publish the pictures of the Duchess as &amp;quot;reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales&amp;quot;, and said that their availability on news stands was &amp;quot;all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house,&amp;quot; the spokesperson added. &amp;quot;It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them.&amp;quot;  The editor of Closer France had earlier described the reaction to the photos as &amp;quot;a little disproportionate&amp;quot;. Laurence Pieau argued: &amp;quot;These are pictures that are full of joy. They are not degrading. Similarities have been drawn with the [nude] pictures of Prince Harry. They are not similar. These are not degrading.&amp;quot; A year of the Duchess of Cambridge:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a406090/topless-kate-middleton-pictures-palace-to-sue-french-magazine-closer/>