A French court ruled Tuesday that a French celebrity magazine must pay 100,000 euros (Dh437,600) in damages to Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate over topless photos of the duchess published in 2012.
The court also ordered Closer magazine's editor Laurence Pieau and publisher Ernesto Mauri to each pay 45,000 euros (Dh197,000) in fines, the maximum possible.
The couple had sought 1.5 million euros in damages and interest, but said they were "pleased" with the verdicts after a "serious breach of privacy."
"They wished to make the point strongly that this kind of unjustified intrusion should not happen," said a statement issued by a spokesperson.
The grainy snaps of Kate Middleton sunbathing in a bikini bottom were taken while she was on holiday in September 2012 in the south of France with her husband, the second in line to the British throne.
The royals — who on Monday announced they are expecting a third child — were snapped with a long lens relaxing by a pool at a château belonging to Viscount Linley, a nephew of Queen Elizabeth.
Closer, a glossy French gossip magazine, was the first to splash them on its cover, and they were later reproduced in several other European publications, including Chi in Italy and Ireland's Daily Star.
The magazine's lawyer Paul-Albert Iweins said he was "pleased" with the ruling on the damages to pay, but said the fine was "exaggerated for a simple private matter."
The court also ordered Closer to hand over the files with the images to the royal couple.
Two Paris-based agency photographers, Cyril Moreau, 32, and Dominique Jacovides, 59, were each given fines of 10,000 euros, with 5,000 euros suspended.
After the pictures first emerged, William and Kate filed a criminal complaint for invasion of privacy and obtained an injunction preventing further use of the images.
In a letter read out in court in May, William said the case reminded him of the paparazzi hounding of his mother, princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash.
August 31 was the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
Life was good
The prosecution had called for "very heavy" fines for the editor of the Closer and Mondadori France, which is part of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's media empire.
The royals, now both aged 35, had joined the case as civil plaintiffs.
During the trial, Closer's lawyers argued that the pictures were in the public interest and conveyed a "positive image" of the royals.
The couple learnt of their impending publication while on an Asia-Pacific tour to mark the diamond jubilee of William's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
The court also ruled on a complaint against the Marseille-based La Provence newspaper, which printed a picture of the Duchess of Cambridge in a two-piece bathing costume at the same château a week before the Closer photos.
For that picture, the paper's publisher and the photographer, Valerie Suau, were given suspended fines, while they were ordered to pay a total of 3,000 euros in damages to William and Kate.
Suau said during the trial that she did not consider her photo to be "shocking".
"For us it was an honour to have (the royals) in the region. They weren't nude, life was good."
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
The%20Specs
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
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