Duchess of Cambridge topless photos: A timeline

A UK website set up using the name of a Bristol company has been reproducing topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge, the Post has revealed.

The site contains a number of the images which have dominated the news agenda for the past week.

The photos were taken while the Duke and Duchess were on a private holiday in France.

Here we look back at how the saga unfolded:

Friday September 14: News emerges that topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge have been published by French celebrity magazine Closer.

In a statement issued on Friday morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge say they are "hugely saddened" by what they call the "grotesque" invasion of their privacy.

St James's Palace says the move by Closer magazine is "reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press during the life of [Princess] Diana", and lawyers are being consulted.

A few hours later the BBC's Nicholas Witchell says: "I have rarely heard quite such a level of publicly expressed anger that I have heard today reflecting William's feelings.

"He is absolutely determined to protect the privacy of his wife; he has always been very protective of her and that anger has mounted during the day."

On Friday afternoon Laurence Pieau, the editor of Closer, defends her decision to publish the photos. During an interview with the French radio station Europe 1 the editor claims there is "nothing degrading" about the photographs, and says she cannot understand the couple's reaction.

Meanwhile publishers of the UK edition of Closer distance themselves from the French magazine.

Chief executive Paul Keenan of Bauer Media says his company deplores the publication of the "intrusive and offensive pictures" and have "complained in the strongest terms" to the firm which licensed the title in France.

He says Bauer has asked Closer France to remove the pictures and refrain from publishing any more.

Meanwhile media lawyer Charlotte Harris from Mishcon de Reya tells the BBC the situation may be a “criminal matter” and "there may be some very wide sanctions" as a result of the publication.

On Friday evening the Duke and Duchess launch legal action against Closer. St James's Palace announces lawyers will be pursuing the matter through the French courts.

Saturday September 15: Italian gossip magazine Chi announces it plans to publish photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless in a special issue the following week.

Closer and Chi are both part of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mondadori media group.

Chi's editor Alfonso Signorini says: "The fact that these are the future rulers of England makes the article more interesting and topical.

"This is a deserving topic because it shows in a completely natural way the daily life of a very famous, young and modern couple in love”.

Hours later it emerges an Irish newspaper has printed copies of the pages from French magazine Closer showing photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless.

Mike O'Kane, editor of the Republic of Ireland edition of the Irish Daily Star, says he treated Catherine as he would any celebrity.

But the paper's joint owners - Northern and Shell and Independent News and Media - slam the decision, claiming they had no prior knowledge of it.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr O'Kane reveals the newspaper was not offered the pictures directly, and had re-printed images of the cover and inside pages of Closer after they were put out by news agencies.

Discussing the possible outcomes of the saga, media law consultant David Banks tells the BBC the penalties are “relatively low” in comparison to some privacy actions seen in the UK, being somewhere in the range of €45,000 (£36,000).

PR consultant Max Clifford says he hopes the royals sue the publications which have printed the photographs, and that it will put off other magazines from making similar decisions about their coverage of the royals.

Sunday September 16: The Duke and Duchess announce they are to make a criminal complaint against the photographer who took topless pictures of the duchess.

It emerges the couple's legal team will also attend the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre in Paris on Monday, where damages and an injunction will be sought regarding Closer magazine.

Meanwhile former prime minister Sir John Major tells BBC's Andrew Marr Show it is “right” to pursue legal action. He says the photographs amount to the actions of a "peeping tom" and their publication was "distasteful".

He adds he is "delighted" the British press had decided not to publish the images.

Elsewhere, the editor of Italian magazine Chi claims more than 200 pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge naked exist.

Monday September 17: The lawyers of the Duke and Duchess appear in court in Paris to stop further publication of topless photos of the duchess.

They call for Closer to hand over the digital originals or face a daily fine, during a civil hearing in Nanterre.

The Independent reports international lawyers acting for the Royal Family have been told they should be "prepared to go the whole way" in efforts to prevent the publication of the topless photographs.

Meanwhile Irish Daily Star editor Michael O'Kane is suspended over its publication of the photographs.

The Dublin-based paper's co-owners, Independent News and Media, confirm he has been suspended while an internal investigation takes place.

The Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter says he will revisit the country's privacy bill following the Irish Daily Star's reprinting of the topless pictures.

The tabloid's co-owner Richard Desmond says he is "taking immediate steps to close down the joint venture" – a move the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) slams as an "over the top reaction".

Meanwhile a senior French media lawyer says the photographer who took topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge may never be brought to justice.

Tuesday September 18: A court bans Closer from re-publishing or distributing the photographs in France, ruling the magazine must hand over the original photographs within 24 hours or face a daily fine of 10,000 euros (£8,000).

The written judgement from a court in Paris says the edition carried the 14 photographs which "belong to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge", and that publication of the latest edition of Closer should cease immediately.

However, the injunction does not cover publications outside France, and refers only to those pictures that have already been published. The BBC points out Closer's editor has “previously hinted that she has other, more intimate, pictures”.

Meanwhile the Independent notes the ruling “will be of limited practical value”.

The report explains: “The offending edition of the magazine has already sold out. The French ruling does not prevent the unidentified photographer, or the photographer's agency, from peddling the images to magazines in other countries.”

It continues: “More significant, perhaps, was a decision by French state prosecution service yesterday to launch a preliminary investigation into a possible criminal prosecution of the magazine and the photographer for trampling the royal couple's right to privacy.

“Such a case, rare in France, could flush out the identity of the man or woman who took the long-lens photos of the near-naked Duchess at a chateau (circ on first a) in Provence.

“If convicted in a criminal case, the magazine's publishers would face a fine of up to €225,000 and civil damages.

“The photographer would face a fine of up to €45,000 plus damages. In theory, a court could also impose jail sentences but this is extremely unlikely.”

Wednesday September 19: Swedish celebrity magazine Se och Hoer announces it will publish photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless.

The weekly celebrity magazine in Denmark announces on its website it will print the photographs in a 16-page supplement on Thursday.

St James's Palace says "proportionate responses” are “under review".

Meanwhile the Guardian reports police have raided the offices of Closer magazine searching for the identity of the photographer who took pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge topless.

The French prosecutor's office later denies the magazine's offices had been raided.

Thursday September 20: Danish celebrity magazine Se og Hoer becomes the fifth publication to print the photographs.

The magazine's 16-page spread includes 14 topless shots of Catherine and three where she is changing her bikini bottoms.

Friday September 21: The Scotsman reports the photographer who took the topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge is British.

According to the report, French paparazzo Pascal Rostain said on Thursday the photographer was an Englishman living in the south of France, spying on the couple’s French chateau on the orders of France’s Closer magazine.

Meanwhile the Daily Mail reports police searching for the photographer who took the topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge are now questioning staff at the French chateau where the couple were staying.