The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge faced fresh anguish
over privacy today after Italian and Australian magazines published
photographs of pregnant Kate in a bikini and more publications round the
world lined up to do the same.
Palace sources condemned the ‘violating’ pictures, which show the couple walking along a beach while holidaying on the secluded Caribbean island of Mustique.
MailOnline understands publishers in the United States, France and Germany have also bought the set for more than £100,000 in total.
Italian gossip magazine Chi, which caused outrage when it published a photograph of Princess Diana as she lay dying, splashed pictures of the duchess and her growing baby bump across its front page.
Australian magazine Woman's Day has also printed the pictures, as well as photographs of Kate's sister Pippa in a bikini, claiming they were taken by a member of the public on a public beach.
Editor Fiona Connolly said the royal couple are not a ‘protected species’ outside Britain adding: 'This is not a hard decision. Kate's on a public beach, there are other holiday-makers there and she looks fabulous.'
However, Mustique is a private island and there is an expectation of privacy for anyone holidaying there because the paparazzi is banned.
Pregnant:
The Duchess of Cambridge, seen here with her husband at the unveiling
of her picture at the National Portrait Gallery, has been photographed
on holiday in Mustique
Kate, who is about four months
pregnant, is wearing a bright blue halter-neck bikini with her slightly
rounded stomach clearly visible.
Her arm is draped over her husband’s shoulders while William, who is wearing blue baggy shorts and sunglasses, has an arm protectively around his wife’s back.
The headline on the front of Chi, which goes on sale today, reads ‘Kate and William – honeymoon for three’.
Woman's Day editor Fiona Connolly said she had no qualms about running the pictures, insisting they were taken by a fellow tourist on Mustique – and not a paparazzo.
They have published a poster today showing pictures of Kate to promote their next edition, which is out on Monday.
‘She is on a public beach and she was mingling with holiday makers,’ she said.
Luxury Island getaway: The couple are staying at a £5million, five-bedroom mansion, one of the most opulent on the island
She told News Ltd that there were other tourists in the photos and ‘it’ s a very different situation to the nude photos.’
This was a reference to photos of Miss Middleton taken by a French photographer last year and which caused distress to the Duchess and Prince William.
Royal storm: Australian magazine Woman's Day has produced this poster advertising their next edition out on Monday
‘There is no photographer hiding in the bushes and she is not inside a private villa,’ said Miss Connolly.
St James’s Palace has angrily hit out at the impending publication of the photos in Europe as ‘a clear breach of the couple’s privacy.’
But Miss Connolly said Australians did not view the royal family as a ‘protected species’ like the British.
‘The British have a great deal more sensitivity to royals than we do here in Oz,’ she said.
‘As Australians, we see this every day. We see pregnant women in bikinis on the beach - and a public one at that - so we are a lot less sensitive here.
'Our readers are going to love these photos. I don't expect any backlash at all really. I think she's looking fabulous and healthy and (with) a beautiful bump, like we haven't seen her before.
Kate ‘looks so much better than the poorly and sickly woman we saw coming out of hospital, which makes these photos more of a celebration,’ she said.
It is not known how much the magazine has paid for the exclusive Australian rights to the photos, which, said Miss Connolly, would eventually be published around the world.
‘Everyone but the UK has or will publish these pics,’ she said.
It is not the first time an Australian magazine has published photos of royals against the wishes of the royal family.
One of the most controversial decisions was made by New Idea magazine - engaged in a bitter publication war with Woman's Day - which revealed in 2008 that Prince Harry had been posted to Afghanistan, putting the royal at risk.
Last night, royal sources said William, in particular, still felt ‘very bruised’ about the fresh breach of privacy so soon after the same magazine splashed topless photographs of Kate across its front page beneath the headline ‘the queen is naked’.
Safe haven: Mustique is well-known amongst celebs as a place to go to avoid media intrusion
The source said William felt very strongly at the time that he had somehow ‘failed’ to protect his wife.
The intimate photographs are thought to have been taken from a boat using a long lens camera.
Chi magazine, which is owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, boasts: ‘The extraordinary images of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their dream holiday in the Caribbean.
‘The future mum, now four months pregnant, wore a tiny bikini which showed off her visible bump.’
The photographs are believed to have been offered to several other magazines around the world and could fetch up to £250,000.
Members of the Middleton family have accompanied the couple on their holiday. (L-R) Carole, James, Michael and Pippa
Yesterday
a spokesman for St James’s Palace said: ‘We are disappointed that
photographs of the Duke and Duchess on a private holiday look likely to
be published overseas.
‘This is a clear breach of the couple’s right to privacy.’
A palace source said: ‘It’s violating’. The duke and duchess, who are expecting their first child in July, flew to a £19,000-a-week luxury villa on the island of Mustique last week.
The Royal couple are two of the world's most recognisable people but it can be a struggle to guard their privacy
Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, and her sister Pippa, flew out at the same time and are renting a villa nearby.
It is understood that bikini photographs of Pippa are also being touted for sale.
Mustique, a private island with just 74 villas and one small hotel, is where Princess Margaret once had a holiday home and is frequented by stars including Mick Jagger.
Kate and William, who were accompanied by a team of bodyguards, have chosen the island for seven of their last eight holidays because of the privacy it affords them.
Mustique is patrolled both on-shore and off-shore by the island’s private security team, but they failed to spot the paparazzi waiting for the couple to emerge on the beach.
Paradise: Mustique is a private island in the Caribbean where Princess Margaret once had a holiday home
Famed
for its palm-fringed beaches and upmarket watering holes, Mustique is
one of the most exclusive holiday destinations in the world.
The tiny Caribbean island was made famous in the 1960s when its owner, Lord Glenconner, gave the Queen's late sister, Princess Margaret, a 10-acre plot of land as a wedding present.
Lord Glenconner bought the island, which had been left to wrack and ruin following the decline of the great sugar plantations in the 19th Century, for £45,000 in 1958.
In the early days, life on the island was simple: with little fresh water and dusty tracks for roads.
But the eccentric Scottish noble struck on the idea of parcelling up and selling off small pockets of land to carefully vetted buyers.
Princess Margaret commissioned theatrical designer, Oliver Messel, to build her a villa, Les Jolies Eaux. She adored Mustique because it was somewhere she could let her hair down away from prying eyes and public scrutiny.
Visitors included her cousin Lord Lichfield, who had a villa nearby, gangster John Bindon - with whom Princess Margaret is rumoured to have had an affair - and Mick Jagger.
It was here, too, that she conducted her long relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years her junior.
Princess Margaret gave Les Jolies Eaux to her son, Lord Linley, when he married in 1998, but, much to her distress, he quickly sold it.
In 1989 Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited company - The Mustique Company - with the 100 or so homeowners as shareholders.
Its status as a private island means that the paparazzi are banned - making it a Mecca for celebrities including Mick Jagger and David Bowie.
Paradise: In 1989 Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited company
The
island's only watering hole, Basil's Bar, and its legendary 'jump-up'
sees rock and roll stars sipping rum punch next royalty without a care
in the world.
Wealthy holidaymakers are attracted by the island's balmy climate and beautiful beaches. There is no 'out of season' as Mustique is far enough south to avoid hurricanes and enjoys temperatures of around 24C (75F) to 27C (80F) all year round.
It is also one of the safest places in the Caribbean. The only murder in Mustique’s recent history occurred 10 years ago when a French heiress was found stabbed to death in her villa - a crime that has never been solved.
Palace sources condemned the ‘violating’ pictures, which show the couple walking along a beach while holidaying on the secluded Caribbean island of Mustique.
MailOnline understands publishers in the United States, France and Germany have also bought the set for more than £100,000 in total.
Italian gossip magazine Chi, which caused outrage when it published a photograph of Princess Diana as she lay dying, splashed pictures of the duchess and her growing baby bump across its front page.
Australian magazine Woman's Day has also printed the pictures, as well as photographs of Kate's sister Pippa in a bikini, claiming they were taken by a member of the public on a public beach.
Editor Fiona Connolly said the royal couple are not a ‘protected species’ outside Britain adding: 'This is not a hard decision. Kate's on a public beach, there are other holiday-makers there and she looks fabulous.'
However, Mustique is a private island and there is an expectation of privacy for anyone holidaying there because the paparazzi is banned.
Pregnant:
The Duchess of Cambridge, seen here with her husband at the unveiling
of her picture at the National Portrait Gallery, has been photographed
on holiday in MustiqueHer arm is draped over her husband’s shoulders while William, who is wearing blue baggy shorts and sunglasses, has an arm protectively around his wife’s back.
The headline on the front of Chi, which goes on sale today, reads ‘Kate and William – honeymoon for three’.
Woman's Day editor Fiona Connolly said she had no qualms about running the pictures, insisting they were taken by a fellow tourist on Mustique – and not a paparazzo.
They have published a poster today showing pictures of Kate to promote their next edition, which is out on Monday.
‘She is on a public beach and she was mingling with holiday makers,’ she said.
Luxury Island getaway: The couple are staying at a £5million, five-bedroom mansion, one of the most opulent on the islandThis was a reference to photos of Miss Middleton taken by a French photographer last year and which caused distress to the Duchess and Prince William.
Royal storm: Australian magazine Woman's Day has produced this poster advertising their next edition out on MondaySt James’s Palace has angrily hit out at the impending publication of the photos in Europe as ‘a clear breach of the couple’s privacy.’
But Miss Connolly said Australians did not view the royal family as a ‘protected species’ like the British.
‘The British have a great deal more sensitivity to royals than we do here in Oz,’ she said.
‘As Australians, we see this every day. We see pregnant women in bikinis on the beach - and a public one at that - so we are a lot less sensitive here.
'Our readers are going to love these photos. I don't expect any backlash at all really. I think she's looking fabulous and healthy and (with) a beautiful bump, like we haven't seen her before.
Kate ‘looks so much better than the poorly and sickly woman we saw coming out of hospital, which makes these photos more of a celebration,’ she said.
It is not known how much the magazine has paid for the exclusive Australian rights to the photos, which, said Miss Connolly, would eventually be published around the world.
‘Everyone but the UK has or will publish these pics,’ she said.
It is not the first time an Australian magazine has published photos of royals against the wishes of the royal family.
One of the most controversial decisions was made by New Idea magazine - engaged in a bitter publication war with Woman's Day - which revealed in 2008 that Prince Harry had been posted to Afghanistan, putting the royal at risk.
Last night, royal sources said William, in particular, still felt ‘very bruised’ about the fresh breach of privacy so soon after the same magazine splashed topless photographs of Kate across its front page beneath the headline ‘the queen is naked’.
Safe haven: Mustique is well-known amongst celebs as a place to go to avoid media intrusionThe intimate photographs are thought to have been taken from a boat using a long lens camera.
Chi magazine, which is owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, boasts: ‘The extraordinary images of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their dream holiday in the Caribbean.
‘The future mum, now four months pregnant, wore a tiny bikini which showed off her visible bump.’
The photographs are believed to have been offered to several other magazines around the world and could fetch up to £250,000.
Members of the Middleton family have accompanied the couple on their holiday. (L-R) Carole, James, Michael and Pippa‘This is a clear breach of the couple’s right to privacy.’
A palace source said: ‘It’s violating’. The duke and duchess, who are expecting their first child in July, flew to a £19,000-a-week luxury villa on the island of Mustique last week.
LIFE IN THE PUBLIC EYE: ROYALS, THE PRESS AND THE BALANCING ACT OF THE RIGHT TO A PRIVATE LIFE AGAINST BEING FIGUREHEADS OF A NATION
In
the wake of the Princess Diana's 1997 death, when the car she was in
crashed while being pursued by papparazi, the Royal Family has asked the
media to limit its intrusion into the private lives of the aristocracy.
A Royal spokesman once said: 'Members of the Royal Family feel they have a right to privacy when they are going about everyday, private activities.
'They recognise there is a public interest in them and what they do, but they do not think this extends to photographing the private activities of them and their friends.'
The UK media has for the most part observed this request. When the topless pictures of The Duchess surfaced, no UK newspapers or magazines published the images, even though they had spread all over the internet.
Similarly, only the Sun published the naked pictures of Prince Harry as he partied in a Las Vegas penthouse.
However, the right to privacy has been a source of contention between the press and the Royals.
Clarence House once even refused to reveal the name of Kate and William's new cocker spaniel puppy, calling it an invasion of their privacy.
Kate finally revealed the name of the black pup three weeks after royal aides refused to confirm it.
She told schoolchildren in Oxford it was called Lupo (Italian for wolf) while on an engagement.
A Royal spokesman once said: 'Members of the Royal Family feel they have a right to privacy when they are going about everyday, private activities.
'They recognise there is a public interest in them and what they do, but they do not think this extends to photographing the private activities of them and their friends.'
The UK media has for the most part observed this request. When the topless pictures of The Duchess surfaced, no UK newspapers or magazines published the images, even though they had spread all over the internet.
Similarly, only the Sun published the naked pictures of Prince Harry as he partied in a Las Vegas penthouse.
However, the right to privacy has been a source of contention between the press and the Royals.
Clarence House once even refused to reveal the name of Kate and William's new cocker spaniel puppy, calling it an invasion of their privacy.
Kate finally revealed the name of the black pup three weeks after royal aides refused to confirm it.
She told schoolchildren in Oxford it was called Lupo (Italian for wolf) while on an engagement.
It is understood that bikini photographs of Pippa are also being touted for sale.
Mustique, a private island with just 74 villas and one small hotel, is where Princess Margaret once had a holiday home and is frequented by stars including Mick Jagger.
Kate and William, who were accompanied by a team of bodyguards, have chosen the island for seven of their last eight holidays because of the privacy it affords them.
Mustique is patrolled both on-shore and off-shore by the island’s private security team, but they failed to spot the paparazzi waiting for the couple to emerge on the beach.
MUSTIQUE: ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS
Paradise: Mustique is a private island in the Caribbean where Princess Margaret once had a holiday homeThe tiny Caribbean island was made famous in the 1960s when its owner, Lord Glenconner, gave the Queen's late sister, Princess Margaret, a 10-acre plot of land as a wedding present.
Lord Glenconner bought the island, which had been left to wrack and ruin following the decline of the great sugar plantations in the 19th Century, for £45,000 in 1958.
In the early days, life on the island was simple: with little fresh water and dusty tracks for roads.
But the eccentric Scottish noble struck on the idea of parcelling up and selling off small pockets of land to carefully vetted buyers.
Princess Margaret commissioned theatrical designer, Oliver Messel, to build her a villa, Les Jolies Eaux. She adored Mustique because it was somewhere she could let her hair down away from prying eyes and public scrutiny.
Visitors included her cousin Lord Lichfield, who had a villa nearby, gangster John Bindon - with whom Princess Margaret is rumoured to have had an affair - and Mick Jagger.
It was here, too, that she conducted her long relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years her junior.
Princess Margaret gave Les Jolies Eaux to her son, Lord Linley, when he married in 1998, but, much to her distress, he quickly sold it.
In 1989 Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited company - The Mustique Company - with the 100 or so homeowners as shareholders.
Its status as a private island means that the paparazzi are banned - making it a Mecca for celebrities including Mick Jagger and David Bowie.
Paradise: In 1989 Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited companyWealthy holidaymakers are attracted by the island's balmy climate and beautiful beaches. There is no 'out of season' as Mustique is far enough south to avoid hurricanes and enjoys temperatures of around 24C (75F) to 27C (80F) all year round.
It is also one of the safest places in the Caribbean. The only murder in Mustique’s recent history occurred 10 years ago when a French heiress was found stabbed to death in her villa - a crime that has never been solved.
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