There are certain people not to cross and the British Royals are such
people. The paparazzi who took topless photos of Kate Middleton in 2012
are learning that the hard way as the royals have taken them to court
and are demanding a compensation of £1.3 million for breach of privacy.
Over
four years ago, celebrity magazine, Closer, and French newspapers
released half-naked photos of the Duchess of Cambridge taken while she
sunbathed topless at a chateau in Luberon region.
Soon after it was
shared by the magazine, the photos went viral and the royals were really
furious about it. They immediately took legal action against the
culprits, which includes; the editor of Closer; Ernesto Mauri, chief
executive of Italian publisher Mondadori, the magazine’s owner; and two
photographers from a Paris agency who are suspected of taking the
pictures.
The royal family revealed that snapping and publishing
the photos were a ‘grotesque’ breach of privacy and sued them in a
French court. The defendants appeared at a court hearing in the Paris
suburb of Nanterre to answer charges brought under French privacy laws.
The two photographers, Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides were present
in the courtroom at the tribunal de Nanterre on Tuesday
but denied taking the photos. They claimed they were unable to find
where the royals were staying and kept driving around looking for them.
Mobile records, however, show that the two photographers were within the
vicinity of the house at the time the photos were taken.
Paul-Albert
Iweins, a lawyer representing Closer magazine tried to justify the
publication of the photos on the grounds of public interest, saying that
the pictures disproved rumours circulating at the time that Middleton
might be anorexic. He argued that the photos did not constitute a breach
of privacy and cast them in a positive light. On the other hand, Jean
Veil, lawyer for the Duchess of Cambridge, said the article which
accompanied the photos was only a pretext for publishing the pictures.
Ernesto Mauri, 70, chief executive of publishing group Mondadori which
produces Closer, faces one charge of using a document obtained by a
breach of privacy, as does Marc Auburtin, 56, who was La Provence’s
publishing director at the time. Laurence Piau, 50, editor of Closer
magazine in France, is charged with complicity.
Another
photographer was present in court and stood in the dock with the other
two. Valerie Suau, 53, who was a photographer for La Provence, is said
to have taken photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge in her swimwear
which were printed in La Provence. She admitted to taking the photos but
told the court she did not intend to breach the royals’ privacy.
Closer
magazine was banned from printing any further images by a court in
Paris after the royal couple launched their legal proceeding. The case
is still ongoing and the royals are demanding comoensation. The court is
expected to reach a verdict on July 4.
360L
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