Prince William and his wife, Catherine Middleton, are taking legal action over photos published in a French magazine that show her topless while on holiday in France.
Celebrity gossip magazine Closer printed pictures of the duchess taken during the couple's private holiday at the chateau of the Queen's nephew, Lord Linley, in Provence.
A royal spokesman said legal proceedings had been launched in France and were for breach of privacy.
The royal couple, who are on a tour of South East Asia and the South Pacific to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, are said to be furious.
A spokesman for the Prince of Wales's office Clarence House said the incident was reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Princess Diana.
The French magazine is administered by Italian business Mondadori, owned by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's holding company Fininvest.
