In 2012, Prince William was reportedly “prepared to go to war” with the media after topless photographs of his wife, Princess Catherine, were taken without her knowledge while they were vacationing in France.
The couple, who had married the year before, were spending a brief break in the south of France before embarking on a nine-day tour of Southeast Asia to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
While staying at a private and secluded property, Catherine was sunbathing in bikini bottoms when a paparazzo, positioned at a distance with a long-lens camera, captured images of her without consent.
The photographs were later published by French magazine Closer as William and Catherine were carrying out official duties in Kuala Lumpur.
A moment of shock and anger
Royal author Russell Myers described the couple’s reaction in his book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story. A palace source told him that when they were informed the images had been released, “it was as if time stood still” for the newlyweds.
“The prince was incandescent, instructing their staff to issue legal proceedings at once,” Myers wrote.