The Prince and Princess of Wales have won a privacy case against a French magazine after it published paparazzi photographs of them and their children on a private family ski holiday, Kensington Palace said.
William and Catherine launched legal action after their break was featured in Paris Match magazine in April, with a series of images documenting their activities with their children at a French resort in the Alps.
The couple were pictured on the ski slopes with Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, and relaxing on their chalet balcony.
It is the second time the royal couple has successfully taken legal action against a French magazine after another one, Closer, published topless photos of Catherine in 2012.
Proceedings were launched against Paris Match – owned by the French luxury group LVMH – in April, days after publication.
The magazine published the judicial notice on Thursday, which said that its content “had infringed the respect due to their private life and the rights the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have on their image”.
William and Catherine’s lawyers had told the French court the couple preferred the publication of the notice rather than any compensation.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales have been successful in legal proceedings brought in France against the owner of Paris Match, which published a grossly intrusive article and long-lens paparazzi photographs of their private family holiday in the Alps in April.
“The ruling affirms that, notwithstanding their public duties as members of the royal family, their Royal Highnesses and their children are entitled to respect for their private lives and family time, without unlawful interference and intrusion.
“The Prince and Princess of Wales are committed to protecting their private family time and ensuring that their children can grow up without undue scrutiny and interference. They will not hesitate to take such action as is necessary to enforce those boundaries.”
The couple are understood to have issued summary proceedings as a faster alternative to substantive privacy proceedings, which can take one to two years. The order also instructs Paris Match to pay the couple’s legal costs.
William views the privacy of his family as of paramount importance and has sought to shield his wife and children from media intrusion.
The couple was awarded €100,000 (£92,000) in damages in 2017 after a French magazine printed topless pictures of Catherine sunbathing on a private terrace. A French court ruled the images used by Closer – taken as the couple holidayed in Provence in 2012 – had been an invasion of their privacy. The royals are understood to have donated the money to charity. The judge also fined Closer’s editor and owner €45,000 each – the maximum amount allowed.
