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Britain's royal family began legal action against a French magazine on Friday for a "grotesque" breach of privacy after it published topless photographs of Prince William's wife Kate Middleton.
Celebrity gossip magazine Closer published a dozen shots of the Duchess of Cambridge on holiday in southern France as she slipped off her bikini top, relaxed on a sun lounger and at one point pulled down the back of her bikini bottoms while William rubbed sun cream on her lower back.
"St James'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," the couple's office said in a statement.
A court in Nanterre near Paris said the royal couple's lawyer had filed a motion to expedite the procedure, and Closer's publishers would be heard on Monday.
Under the headline "Oh my God!", the photos show the couple, whose regal yet natural conduct since their April wedding has won them fans worldwide, soaking up the sun on the balcony of a 19th century hunting lodge, oblivious to lurking paparazzi.
The spread is a blow to Buckingham Palace as it tries to move on from a scandal over naked shots of Prince Harry that tarred an image bolstered by William and Kate's wedding, the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee and her Olympic Games appearance.
While Closer defended its decision to publish the photographs, a royal spokesperson said it had upset the royal couple, who are currently touring southeast Asia.
"Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner," a spokesperson for St James's Palace said.
"Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them."
British Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman also said the royal couple should be entitled to their privacy.
Closer's editor-in-chief Laurence Pieau described the photos as a "beautiful series" that showed a couple in love and were in no way degrading. She said the magazine had more intimate shots from the same series that it opted not to publish.
"There's been an over-reaction to these photos. What we see is a young couple, who just got married, who are very much in love, who are splendid," Pieau told French BFM television.
"She's a real 21st century princess," she added: "It's a young woman who is topless, the same as you can see on any beach in France or around the world."
WINDSORS TAKE THEIR CLOTHES OFF
Closer is published by Mondadori, an Italian company partly owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and chaired by his daughter Marina. Lawyers said it is likely to find the case difficult to defend, although profits from the issue would likely far exceed any fine faced, probably just a few thousand euros.
"It's without a doubt an invasion of privacy," said Christopher Mesnooh, a U.S. lawyer who practices in France.
"They were on vacation in a friend's chateau. There was no expectation the press would be there. So visibly they have been damaged by the fact the pictures were taken and it is likely a French court would rule in that direction."
The publication -- which set off a stream of mostly angry commentary on twitter -- reopens a debate over the privacy of Britain's royal family and the freedom of the press weeks after a U.S. website published grainy photos of William's younger brother Harry cavorting naked in a Las Vegas hotel room.
"Harry started the fashion: these days the Windsors take their clothes off," the French magazine quipped in the photo spread, which it claimed as a world exclusive on the couple's mini-vacation in early September.
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