Legal win for palace on topless Kate photos (but cat’s out of bag)

It’s a win for the royal family! The topless photos of Kate Middleton must be surrendered by Closer, a French court has ruled. Closer is the French magazine that published the skin-baring pictures of Duchess Catherine and whose editor said, with a Gallic shrug, “What’s the big deal?�

(Here’s more about Gallic shrugs.)

The original photos must be handed over within 24 hours, a French court ruled Tuesday. Plus, CNN reports, Closer was fined $2,600 -- and if it is not prompt about turning in the pictures, it will be forced to pay about $13,000 for each day it is late.

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Although it’s a win for the royals, the cat, obviously, is out of the bag. Topless Kate has made the rounds.

The duchess has been featured topless now in Closer, the Irish Daily Star and on 26 pages of the Italian publication Chi. But the palace continues its sweep-up operation, demanding that photos be taken offline too, according to CNN, which notes that a French prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

So with no photos online, pretty soon those magazines will become hot sellers on EBay! No, they won’t -- not the infamous issue of Closer, anyway. As AFP reports, EBay has banned sales of copies of the Closer issue. Before the decision Tuesday, the issue was selling to buyers outside France for about $45. AFP says several copies of Chi were available on Tuesday, and people were bidding for a copy of the Irish Daily Star.

Amid the kerfuffle that first arose with news that Closer would be publishing the photos, editor Laurence Pieau told Yahoo News last week that it was a “coup� for the magazine but otherwise no big deal -- just a young woman sunbathing topless, something “millions� do.

But not long after, the chief executive of the UK Closer declared the owners and publishers of the brand “appalled,� posting a statement on its crashed website that read in part, “We deplore the publication of these intrusive and offensive pictures and have asked that Closer France takes these pictures down immediately from its website and desist from publishing any further pictures. ...

But life goes on for royal couple Prince William and wife Kate, who on Tuesday were wearing floral headgear and drinking milk from a coconut in Tuvalu. Their current tour is part of a celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.

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