Prince William and Kate Middleton seek €1.5m over topless photos

Prince William is seeking €1.5m (£1.3m) in damages following the publication of photographs showing his wife Kate Middleton topless while on holiday in France.

In a statement read out on the first day of a privacy hearing in France, the Duke of Cambridge described the "clandestine" photographs as "particularly shocking".

They were "all the more painful" given the media's harassment of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, he added.

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Long-lens photographs of Kate were taken while the royal couple were on holiday at a chateau owned by the Queen's nephew Viscount David Linley in Provence in 2012.

The topless photographs were published in France's Closer magazine, a publication unrelated to the UK title, in September of that year, while regional newspaper La Provence published images of the Duchess sunbathing.

Six people are on trial in connection with the alleged breach of privacy.

Closer editor Laurence Piau is charged with complicity, while Ernesto Mauri, chief executive officer of Closer's publishing house, and Marc Auburtin, publishing director of La Provence, are being prosecuted for using a document obtained by a breach of privacy.

Two of the three accused photographers, Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides, deny taking the topless images, claiming they were unsuccessful in their attempts to track down the royal couple.

Valerie Suau, a photographer for La Provence, admitted taking photos but told the court she never intended to breach the couple's privacy, the BBC reports.

Paul-Albert Iweins, representing Closer magazine, argued that publication of the photos were justified on public interest grounds to disprove rumours that the Duchess of Cambridge was anorexic, Metro reports.

He also argued the couple were already subject to much media attention and the photos did not constitute a breach of privacy.

The court case follows an emergency injunction obtained by the Duke and Duchess in September 2012.

A verdict is expected on 4 July.