Kate and William to make criminal complaint over topless photos

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine are to lodge a criminal complaint in France over the taking and publication of topless photographs which appeared last week in a French magazine, a palace spokeswoman said yesterday.

"We can confirm that a criminal complaint is to be made to the French Prosecution Department tomorrow [Monday]," a St James's Palace spokeswoman said, adding that the action was in addition to civil proceedings against French magazine Closer.

The former Kate Middleton and her husband are struggling to keep a lid on the paparazzi shots of her sunbathing in her bikini briefs, despite launching legal action on Friday against the French magazine that first published them.

The Irish Daily Star tabloid re-printed them on Saturday, while Italian gossip magazine Chi says it is planning to devote 26 pages to the grainy snaps in a special edition today.

The intimate shots - taken while the couple were on holiday in the south of France this month - come hot on the heels of images of a naked Harry, frolicking in a Las Vegas hotel suite with a mystery woman, that went viral on the internet last month.

But while the twin scandals have generated millions of column inches, royal-watchers say they will do little to dent the wave of popularity the British monarchy is riding in the 60th year of Queen Elizabeth's reign.