London, Sep 17 : The British royal family faced a multi-national battle to contain the spread of topless photos of Prince William's wife Kate, as an Irish tabloid published them on Saturday.
The pictures, taken while Kate and William were at a private estate in southern France last month, drew outrage in Britain when they appeared in a French magazine.
The Irish Daily Star ran the pictures on Saturday over two inside pages, although the photos did not feature in the edition distributed in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
But the paper's joint owners - Northern and Shell and Independent News and Media - condemned the decision and said they had no prior knowledge of it.
Richard Desmond, chairman of Northern and Shell, said he was "taking immediate steps to close down the joint venture" that runs the tabloid.
Gareth Morgan, Editor of the Daily Star Sunday said the British newspaper "whole heartedly" condemned the publication, saying they were given "no prior notification."
The royal couple's St. James's Palace office also condemned the Irish paper, saying: "There can be no motivation for this action other than greed."
The French magazine Closer published the photos on Friday and was immediately slapped with a lawsuit by the royal couple alleging privacy violations.
The Irish Daily Star website came up as "temporarily unavailable" in Britain on Saturday.
An Italian gossip magazine owned by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday it planned to publish the photos, despite legal action against Closer.
Chi is part of Berlusconi's publishing house Mondadori, which also owns Closer.
Chi said it plans to publish a 26-page spread with the photos on Monday.
Royal photographer Harry Page did not believe they would be able to stop publication.
"They'd have to move fast," he said. "Time is not on their side."
A spokeswoman at St. James's Palace said the palace was reviewing "all proportionate responses" to Chi's planned publication.
The British media has so far opted not to show the photographs leading some to argue that it proves there is no need for further press regulation.
"It is somewhat hypocritical to say that we've learnt all our lessons simply because the right and proper decision not to infringe the privacy of the Duchess has been made by the press. It's a decision that should have been made anyway. It should be the rule and not the example," media lawyer Charlotte Harris said.
Media analyst Steve Hewlett believed the reason British newspapers had not published the pictures was because of a fear of a backlash from their readers.
The Duke and Duchess are currently on a nine-day tour of south-east Asia and the South Pacific to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
They spent much of Saturday at the Borneo Rainforest Research Centre in Danum Valley, where they embarked on a guided treetop tour to learn about the local wildlife.
The Danum Valley Conservation Area is situated in south-eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
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