French Court Sides With Royals and Orders 'Closer' to Hand Over Kate Middleton Photos

Royal family, 1, French magazine, 0. 

Courtesy of a French court ruling, the publisher of Closer today has been ordered to hand over all of its topless photos of Duchess Kate within 24 hours. Plus, the court blocked further publication of the images.

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According to Fox, under the ruling, the French magazine, which published 14 photos of Kate, must not publish the images of an intimate moment in the south of France any more. This includes its website and tablet app. Plus, Closer will have to pay $13,000 in daily fines if it doesn't comply.

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The French ruling iread: "These snapshots which showed the intimacy of a couple, partially naked on the terrace of a private home, surrounded by a park several hundred meters from a public road, and being able to legitimately assume that they are protected from passers-by, are by nature particularly intrusive. (They) were thus subjected to this brutal display the moment the cover appeared."

Although this ruling sides with the royal family, it may feel like too little, too late. Magazines in Ireland and Italy have already published Kate's photos and the ruling in France only affects the French publisher, not foreign publications. 

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