Kate Middleton Awarded $120,000 In Damages For Topless Photos Published In 2012

The French magazine Closer has to pay Kate Middleton for publishing her topless photos.

On Tuesday, a court in Nanterre, France ordered the magazine to pay £91,700 in punitive damages to the Duchess of Cambridge for publishing her topless photos in 2012, E! News reported. The amount roughly equates to $120,000.

The court ruled out that the photos used in the magazine had breached Middleton and Prince William's privacy. The controversial images were taken when the couple was on vacation in Provence, France. The pair stayed at a remote chateau owned by Queen Elizabeth II's nephew, Lord Linley and were expecting their privacy.

All of the six defendants in the trial that began in May were convicted of charges. Judge Florence Lasserre-Jeannnin also ordered the regional newspaper La Provence, which printed additional images of Middleton in swimwear to pay €3,000 ($3,500) in damages.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased that the court has found in their favour and the matter is now closed," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said in a statement. "This incident was a serious breach of privacy, and Their Royal Highnesses felt it essential to pursue all legal remedies. They wished to make the point strongly that this kind of unjustified intrusion should not happen."

TMZ reported that when the Royal family learned about the controversial photos, they were furious. They immediately threatened to take legal actions against the magazine. After five years, the case has come to a conclusion.

Closer magazine has a UK version, which reportedly immediately distanced itself from its French counterpart. The UK publication noted that the editor of the French edition has independent editorial decisions. Closer magazine UK under PCC code is serious in never publishing topless images of any Royal family member on its cover.

Middleton and Prince William have already moved on from the said controversy. While they are thankful for the decision, there are more important things to attend to especially that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with royal baby No. 3.

A source revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have always wanted to have another baby after delivering Princess Charlotte. In fact, Middleton joked about having more babies when they visited Poland in July after receiving a high-tech toy for newborns.