Kate topless photos reaction

The French magazine Closer has angered the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by publishing photos of Catherine sunbathing topless, while on holiday in France. A royal spokesman said the couple were "hugely saddened", and may take legal action. Here is some of the reaction to the publication.

Clarence House, Prince of Wales's office

"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."

Laurence Pieau, editor of French magazine Closer

"One shouldn't over-dramatise these pictures. The reactions are a little disproportionate. What we saw in the pictures was a young couple that have just got married, who are in love, who are beautiful. She's a princess of the 21st century. They are on the terrace of a mansion in the south of France which is not far from a road along which cars pass without any problem. They are visible from the street.

"She's a young woman who is topless just like the ones who can be see on all the beaches of France and the world. It's a member of the British Royal Family. There have been pictures before that. Two weeks ago, there were the pictures of Prince Harry that had been published by the English press. So one shouldn't be hypocritical. And those were pictures were degrading and far hotter than those that we're publishing. She's a topless princess. There have been others. It's really not new."

Dominic Mohan, editor of The Sun

"The Sun has no intention of breaching the royal couple's privacy by publishing these intrusive pictures. The circumstances are very different to those relating to the photos of Prince Harry in Las Vegas.

"As we said at the time, he was at a party in a hotel suite with a large group of strangers, and one of those present released a photograph into the public domain."

Nicholas Witchell, BBC Royal Correspondent

"I have rarely heard quite such a level of publicly expressed anger that I have heard today reflecting William's feelings.

"He is absolutely determined to protect the privacy of his wife, he has always been very protective of her and that anger has mounted during the day."

Max Clifford, publicist

Max Clifford said it was good that UK publishers did not use the images

"I'm surprised, particularly considering what happened in France to William's mother 15 years ago. That adds to the concern and upset it will have caused them. The good thing is no editor in this country has published them. If Kate was doing something dangerous or something that would upset the British public, then you could justify it. But her sitting by a private pool topless doesn't come into that.

"If the publisher knows that publishing a picture of Harry, William or Kate in a private setting will cost them a lot of money then they won't do it. If they pursue the French magazine and the photographer and successfully sue them, and it costs a lot of money, it's going to put everybody else off and that is why I hope it will happen."

Prime Minister's official spokesman

"The view from Downing Street is that they are entitled to their privacy."

Kevin Maguire, Daily Mirror associate editor

Kevin Maguire said there may be differing views about topless women

"In Britain you certainly couldn't take those pictures, because she has a reasonable expectation of privacy when she is on a private property, away from the road - but a peeping tom with a long lens has caught her.

"I'd be very surprised if they were published in this country, but in France maybe they take a different view to nudity and people going topless, or maybe they just take a different view of British royals than they do to French politicians."

Penny Junor, royal commentator

"There is absolutely no justification for this, I mean it really does take us straight back to the worst days of Diana's life - no public interest is served by this at all.

"This is just hideous. The poor girl, she thought she was in total privacy, and she should have been in total privacy. Like any young girl sunbathing, she didn't want a bikini mark, she takes her top off - what is the harm in that?"

Stig Abell, former director of the Press Complaints Commission

"It's perhaps not surprising that something like this has happened - pictures of Kate and William when they were on their honeymoon were published in the Australian press and went on the internet, and they are one of the most famous couples in the world.

"She and he are in a private location and there is no justification for publishing them and I wouldn't expect any newspaper in this country to do it."

Benedicte Paviot, of the French broadcaster, France 24

"It is not lost on anyone that France has amongst the strictest privacy laws in the world, and I can't see that this is in the public interest at all - and it reminds us painfully of the whole Diana saga, and her being chased by paparazzi."

Jack Ludlam, paparazzi photographer

"You press the shutter, you would have. Any paparazzo would have taken them. He's probably looking at flats and houses, so you know as long as there's people on magazines willing to pay good money for stuff like that, someone somewhere is going to take it."