The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hugely saddened over the “grotesque and unjustifiable invasion of privacy” by a magazine which published topless photos of Kate, a royal spokesman says.
French publication Closer printed the pictures of the duchess, taken during their holiday at the French chateau of the Queen’s nephew, Lord Linley.
The photos are blurry and taken with a long lens, the BBC’s Paris bureau says.
There are four pages of photos of the couple with Kate topless in several.
The Duke and Duchess “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 spokesman for Clarence House, the Prince of Wales’s office, said.
“The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so.
“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.
“Officials acting on behalf of their Royal Highnesses are consulting with lawyers to consider what options may be available to the Duke and Duchess.”
They were told about the magazine’s plan to publish the photos during breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on their tour of South East Asia.
It has emerged that British newspapers were offered photographs last week but turned them down.
BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt says: “Royal officials say they accept the photos are genuine and the couple are furious.
“They believe a “red line” has been crossed. The couple cannot believe someone would take such photos and publish them.
“The officials stress the couple couldn’t have gone to a more secluded location in France. They were a “young couple enjoying a holiday”.
“There has been a significant hardening of William and Kate’s response to the publication of the topless photos.
“The publication of the photographs will be a bitter blow to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“Prince William witnessed the complex relationship his mother, Diana, had with the media. He believes the actions of the paparazzi in Paris contributed to her death.
“He wants to shield his wife from the worst excesses of reporters and photographers in full flight.”
The royal couple continued with their nine-day tour, which is part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, on Friday by visiting a mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
On Thursday, the duchess gave her first official speech abroad while visiting a hospice in the capital.
“Providing children and their families with a place of support, care and enhancement at a time of great need is simply life changing,” she said.
She said the couple were “hugely excited” to be in Malaysia, after they had started their tour in Singapore.
The emergence of the magazine photos follows the controversy over the publication of pictures of a naked Prince Harry, Kate’s brother-in-law, which were taken in a Las Vegas hotel room last month.
The images first emerged on entertainment gossip website TMZ in the US before going global.
However, the Sun was the only British newspaper to defy the wishes of St James’s Palace and print them after the palace had warned that the photos breached Harry’s privacy.
The tabloid printed two photographs, believed to have been taken on a camera phone, of the prince with a naked woman. It argued that its action was in the public interest.
The Press Complaints Commission said it received hundreds of complaints from members of the public but did not act because it had not been contacted by representatives of the prince.
Closer is not run by the same company as the British title; it is administered by Italian business Mondadori, owned by former president Silvio Berlusconi’s holding company Fininvest.
It was launched in 2005 as a sister title to the British version, which is published by Bauer.