PARIS — A civil court in Nanterre, just outside Paris, has granted an injunction against further publication of topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, St. James’ Palace confirmed.
The court ruled that the publishers of Closer Magazine France could not republish or sell the photos, taken while the royal couple was on vacation at a private residence in the South of France earlier this month, and said that they must hand over all devices on which the images are stored within 24 hours, according to media reports.
The court did not, however, decide to withdraw the offending issue from newsstands or ban its reprinting, the same reports said.
A spokeswoman for the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre, where the case was heard, was not immediately available for comment.
The duke and duchess engaged legal proceedings for breach of privacy against the publishers of Closer Magazine France on Friday.
The plaintiffs were seeking to prevent further publication of the issue of Closer, as well as an injunction against further publication of the specified images, both in France and abroad.
Criminal proceedings, in which the couple will seek damages, were also filed Monday, but are expected to take months to conclude.
On Monday, the Italian gossip magazine Chi, which like France’s Closer is published by Mondadori, came out with a 26-page spread of topless photos of the duchess despite the legal action in France.