New Book Spotlights Prince William’s Battle To Protect Kate Middleton After Release Of Scandalous Photos

A new book, “William and Catherine,” shines a spotlight on Prince William’s determination to shield Catherine (Kate) Middleton after the publication of topless photos.

Russell Myers, royal editor of the Daily Mirror, wrote about what happened after French magazine Closer published the photos, according to Fox News. The scandal dates back to William and Kate’s 2012 vacation in the South of France.

Myers wrote that the couple, who were newly married, stayed at the Château d’Autet — a 19th-century hunting lodge located in the Luberon hills of Provence.

A paparazzo used a long-range lens camera from about a mile away and captured images of Kate topless while she was sunbathing, Fox News reported, citing the book.

The images’ publication sent William into a fit of rage, and he vowed to take legal action “all the way” to protect his wife, according to Meyers.

Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales (L) and Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremonial welcome for France’s President and his wife at Windsor Castle, in Windsor west of London, on July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Photo by Dominique JACOVIDES / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DOMINIQUE JACOVIDES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Myers said their “world came crashing down.” William promised to protect Kate by launching litigation against the magazine, and he was “ready to go to war with the press.”

“William has always had a different relationship with the press, not necessarily as public as his brother,” Myers told Fox News. “Certainly, in his formative years, William was very clear that he didn’t want to go back to the really destructive period of his parents’ relationship, which had a huge effect on him and Harry.”

TOPSHOT – Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales (L) and Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales take a walk in the Ardura Community Forest to highlight the importance of protecting and championing the natural environment, during a visit to the Isle of Mull, western Scotland on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Myers recalled William’s interaction with journalists, noting, “It’s very clear from what he said, ‘I will stop at nothing to protect my family, and you have to realize this.’ Even before he had children, William’s real sense of urgency to try to make the media understand his views on that was very apparent.”

“It was an uncomfortable situation to be in for Catherine. She was from a very small village in the center of England. She really hadn’t been exposed to any level of celebrity or the crazy attention that the British monarchy has the world over,” he told Fox News.

Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales (L) and Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales arrive for a a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in central London on November 21, 2023, for South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee on their first day of a three-day state visit to the UK. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee began a three-day trip to the UK on Tuesday, with King Charles III’s hosting his first state visitors since his coronation. (Photo by Yui Mok / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Meyers wrote that William considered the images an “utter violation,” and he immediately made “frantic” calls to his father and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. He told them he was immediately issuing a public statement, and he would pursue a lawsuit against the magazine over what he called “monstrous behavior.”

Meyers wrote that Middleton busied herself with royal duties to distract from the scandalous photos, but William’s “anger was palpable,” and he seemed to be “under unimaginable stress, Fox News reported.

Italian magazine Chi published the images along with the Irish version of the British Daily Star, according to the outlet.

“Palace staff reacted furiously, suggesting the clock had been turned back 15 years to the dark days of Princess Diana being hounded to her death by the paparazzi,” Myers wrote.

The book claimed William told his lawyers to pursue the most severe damages possible, noting that he would direct the money to charity. The French Closer outlet defended the publication of the images, according to the Evening Standard.

Kate Middleton Awarded $119,000 Over Topless Paparazzi Photos https://t.co/cHFL0Fx8r1 pic.twitter.com/wKGFvZb0Qw

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2017

“The photographs we have selected are by no means degrading,” a spokesman for the outlet said at the time.

“They show a beautiful, in love, modern holidaying young couple in their normal life,” he added.  (RELATED: Prince William, Kate Middleton Break Silence On Epstein Files)

A judge ordered the outlet to pay the royals €100,000, or $117,892.55 in damages, Fox News reported, citing a 2017 Vogue report. It was notably less than the $1.7 million they had demanded in the lawsuit.

Two staffers were fined a combined €90,000, 0r $106,077.60, according to Vogue. The Kensington Palace was believed to have been “pleased” by the ruling, the outlet reported.