Topless Kate, Clueless Will

The woman who has become a fashion icon finds herself undressed in the very magazines that made her one

I'm sure no one wants to feel like the princess this week. Or, as it were, the duchess. Pictures of a topless Kate Middleton, or Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are all over the internet after they were first published by a French tabloid. The royal couple was holidaying at a cousin's estate in Provence, France, and sunbathing topless. A paparazzo sneaked up with his long lens from the bushes and took several balcony shots of Will and Kate.

The irony is hard to miss — the woman whose wardrobe and fashion sensibilities are the most admired across the world, finds herself undressed in the very magazines that made her a

style icon.

William is furious, the couple has decided to sue the French magazine as well as the photographer. Meanwhile, an Italian and an Irish tabloid have picked up the images and published them. Will and Kate are expected to fight a multinational legal battle to keep further images from cropping up. But in the past week, everyone who has a computer or a smartphone (which pretty much means everyone), has had a glimpse already.

The British royals can barely contain their own press invasions. News of the World had to shut down because of the phone-hacking scandal and The Sun only recently published naked pictures of the other prince, Harry, along with some party girls.

The international press doesn't give a hoot. The editor of the Italian Chi that has published Kate's sunbathing pictures, has stated that "not even a direct call from the Queen" would stop him. The Irish tabloid's editor Mike O'Kane says that Ireland doesn't view the royals the same way as the British: "She's not our future Queen. The duchess would be no different from any other celeb pic (sic) we would get in, for example Rihanna or Lady Gaga".

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