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Kate Middleton’s Lawyer: Topless Photos Were “Highly Intimate”

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Kate Middleton and Prince William on September 14, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Let the royal trial begin.

Attorneys representing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared in a court outside Paris on Monday — commencing a case against the publishers of French magazine Closer for publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton in its newest issue.

Related: PHOTOS: William and Kate's tour of Asia

Speaking of behalf of Middleton and Prince William, both 30, criminal barrister Aurelien Hammelle argued in the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Nanterre that the snapshots were a "grotesque breach of privacy."

Before embarking on their Diamond Jubilee Tour of Asia, William and Kate were staying in the South of France — at the chalet of Viscount Linley (Queen Elizabeth's nephew) — when the photographs in question were taken. Taken during a "highly intimate moment," the photos "violated" the royal couple, argued Hammelle.

Related: PHOTOS: Nude celeb scandals

He added of the future Queen of England: "She's a young woman, not an object."

The purpose of Monday's hearing was to seek an injuction to have all copies of the magazine removed from stores, and to prevent further distribution of the photos by any means. Closer's editor and the as-yet-unidentified photographer face heavy fines under French privacy laws as well as a one-year prison sentence.

Related: PHOTOS: William and Kate at the Olympics

Adding insult to injury, argued Hammell: The photos were taken within days of the 15th anniversary of the death of William's mother Princess Diana, caused largely by dogged photographers — "the useless, cynical and morbid hunt which led to the death of William's mother," Hammelle said.

Italian magazine Chi also published additional topless photos in a 26-page supplement, published Monday.

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