You could never do it in North America, but in Europe, privacy laws are a little different and Kate Middleton has filed a criminal complaint against the photographer who took the photos of her sunbathing topless and having sex with Prince William while they were on vacation in France. Even though the photographer took the photos from a public road, France's privacy laws are such that his actions might have been criminal. Also today, lawyers for Kate and William will be expected in French court to seek damages against Closer Magazine. It will be a pittance compared to how much money they have made and sold additional photos for.
I hope she/they win. Its enough already invading people's privacy. Yes they are famous and need the press- when they are 'working'. Which they were not. And anyone who is 'dying' to see the pics- that desire sats alot about you, and not in a good way. You want to see someone's humiliation. Not nice.
ReplyDeleteThere are sex pictures?
ReplyDeleteI hope she wins. It might set the bar for future paps laying off. I keep thinking of poor Diana being chased. :(
Agreed, auntliddy. leave the kids alone!
ReplyDeleteWhat bothers me most about all this is that you know it makes William PTSD over the death of his mother again. Poor guy.
While I hope she wins and I do believe it to be an invasion of privacy, they don't have sex in the Palace with the blinds open so why get it on outside? They had to know there was a chance something like this could happen, so why risk it?
ReplyDeleteI hope that she wins, too. If she chose to go topless or have sex with her husband on a public beach, sure she'd get what she deserved. But a private estate? It's disturbing that people want these pictures.
ReplyDeleteFor once, it's true: "It's not the money, it's the principle of the thing."
ReplyDeleteOff with their head!
ReplyDeleteIt's not like they were on a balcony on Bourbon Street. They were not on a beach out in the open. They were on a private 600 acre estate. The expectation of privacy was more than reasonable. A long distance lens was used to invade that privacy. It's not like someone took it with a Kodak Instamatic. There was some effort to used to intrude that privacy and get the pictures.
If I was William, it will be a long time before I ever set foot in France again. If ever.
So if there are sex pics, that means that they were having sex in view of their security? Where was the security? And if they were visible from the road, even a mile away, where was the security? If there was a sniper instead of a photographer, what then? I think it's incredibly naive for them to be out in the open like that. And William seems to be having a temper tantrum.
ReplyDeleteGood for her. That's sick that they took pictures of them having sex!
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking that if this were 200 years ago (okay, so there were no cameras... and no gossip mags but work with me, people) and William's royal title carried actual governmental power as it used to, this would've been cause for war. Can you imagine what would've happened if France had humiliated Ann Boelyn?
ReplyDeleteAs it is now, this is an international incident. The French government needs to get involved, at the very least issuing a statement against the publication of these photos, and how about an apology? Had the Enquirer been the one to do this, you can bet England would hear an apology from the administration.
i hope they will win!
ReplyDeleteand i hope a huge fine
i'm ashamed of Closer and the paps
When you are in the public eye, especially when you are a British royal, you have to assume that someone is always photographing you when you are in the open air. Agree, it is naive of them to think otherwise and need to be responsible for their actions instead of blaming a photographer who was doing their job (ethical or not, it's a job and they did it) while they were being careless and stupid.
ReplyDeleteDon't sunbathe topless and have sex outside if you are famous and then be surprised that there are photos. The rules aren't different if you're a royal, government official, or reality star. Someone's always watching.
I hope they loose, or the magazine gets a fine and that's it.
ReplyDeleteScrew the monarchy.
These royals are extremely naive or are they just bored? Sex in the open? With all the security around them and a road nearby? Come on folks, the road is NOT that far away. 600 Acres is nothing for sophisticated cameras, and THEY KNOW IT!!Don't turn Kate Middleton into a victim. She loves the attention.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be pedantic but her name is not Kate Middleton any longer. She is Catherine Mountbatten-Windsor or Duchess of Cambridge.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think it was a judgment error on their part to not go behind closed doors (knowing the scrutiny they are always under) I do hope they win. This crossed the line, IMO. And as another poster mentioned, with what happened to Diana I feel doubly bad for William having to deal with this.
ReplyDeleteI think it's vulgar for photographers to post this stuff. Honestly, there has to be a point where you draw the line. I like gossip as much as the next person, but really do not want to see someone's privacy invaded to this extent.
ReplyDeleteI think the monarchy has mistakenly gotten comfortable with the privacy that was awarded to William and Harry after the loss of their mother. However, they're no longer boys. They're grown men and in the public eye. This sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, and it looks like it's sooner.
ReplyDeleteYou can't shut the barn door once the horses are out.
How do we know they had sex on the balcony? What if they went inside and were photographed through the doors/windows?
ReplyDelete@Susan, not acknowledging kate as duchess of whatnot is totally intentional from my part as a republican (in Europe, has nothing to do with the US political party :P)
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that, pragmatically speaking, in exchange for the endless riches and jewels and oh yeah just being a princess, you pretty much give up the right to sunbathe topless and have sex on the beach.
ReplyDeleteWorth it; I'd totally make that trade.
ITA w/figgy though I think it is disgusting that someone would take pictures of them having sex.
ReplyDeleteI feel really bad for both of them. Poor Wills lost his mom because of the paps in France and now this! Serious PTSD (yup Libby!). He will retreat deeper into his private world because of this. So ya, I think it crosses the line - big time!!!
ReplyDeleteAt least the paps had enough class not to release the sex photos. Of course there would be sex photos! You can be pretty sure Wills and Kate won't do this again.
Someone else mentioned the security risk - you know snipers? I would be more worried about that.
These pictures are just mean, not scandalous. They say they're aren't any sex photos, just her sunbathing.
ReplyDeleteSad. She's done nothing different than every other European woman does. They're a married couple and there's nothing scandalous here if they were intimate, but the media certainly loves to make nothing into something. They will win their case, but I hope they don't change their behavior because of a rude pap. She should be able to sunbathe however she wants to if it's legal in that location. Ridiculous.
ReplyDeletelet's see these pics!
ReplyDeleteSue away. The spying has gotten out of control.
ReplyDeleteIts truly shameful any pictures were taken of this nature, but if you are a celeb of any kind, royal or otherwise, you have to know that your picture can be taken at any given moment and then you live your life accordingly.
ReplyDeleteAll of this would not be happening if the poor choice of being nude/having sex outdoors never took place.
Who would have thought that being 1/2-1 mile away from a public road would still be dangerous. Seriously, these paps had to be hanging in the trees to get these pics but get them they did. Still feel badly for the couple. Who hasn't been spontaneous when they thought they were completely alone and private outdoors (not in a stadium bathroom).
ReplyDelete@Sherry - I agree with you on the spontaniety aspect. There's nothing wrong with living in the moment, considering they are newlyweds and on a private estate. Nothing kills the mood like "Oops, sorry honey, but we gotta stop, there might be photogs hanging in the trees a mile away"
ReplyDeleteIf I followed a random woman around for hours on end, waiting for her to go into a private home, stood outside of the window until I saw her changing, then burst into the home, ran up the stairs and started taking pictures of her, I'd be in jail forever.
ReplyDeleteThe only difference is the paparazzi did it from long range and lots of people made lots of money of it.
Honestly, I'd call it sexual assault.
I don't want to see these pictures but I do think they are old enough and experienced enough not to be naked or having sex outside in view of anyone.
ReplyDeleteIt is intrusive and invasive but it's a fact of life for people who live in the public eye like the royals or celebrities and at a certain point you shouldn't be putting it out there to BE photographed.
Hope they can stop further publication and syndication of the pictures but in the end the only control they really have is to not put themselves in the position for it to happen.
Private estate- 425 acres. They should be afforded some privacy. I can't imagine who is interested in seeing them naked, having sex or anything of that nature. But it's sad that the max fine is only 30k and I'm sure millions are being made off the pic's.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I think this was a gross invasion of privacy!
WW- hee hee. Michelle & Sasha to London stat! We have amends to make!!
ReplyDeleteAlso quite digging that turquoise neck line in this pic.
ReplyDeleteWhen bieber was dangerously chased by paps in LA I didnt see you all defending him. What about little crazy drunk amanda bynes having an accident right after a flash went off?
ReplyDeleteThe photog was on public property. Fair dinkum picture.
To allow a criminal or civil complaint is to say anytime anyone is on private property they cant be photographec.
Diana was killed by a drunk driver and poor dead dumn dodi is who made the decision to use that driver.