William and Kate win legal battle after family holiday pictures published

The Prince and Princess of Wales have won a legal battle brought against a French magazine after it published pictures of their private family ski holiday, Kensington Palace has said.

William and Kate contacted their lawyers after their break was featured in Paris Match magazine in April, with a series of images documenting their time away from royal duties with their children at a French resort in the Alps.

The couple were pictured on the ski slopes with  Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and relaxing on their chalet balcony.

The prince views the privacy of his family as of paramount importance and has sought to shield his wife and children from media intrusion.

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 summary legal proceedings are understood to have been issued on April 28, 12 days after the article was published, followed by an oral hearing in June and further developments on September 18, when Sandrine Gil, president of the first chamber of the Nanterre court, issued an interim order, which was sealed into a final order on October 14.

It is understood the court ruled Paris Match had infringed the privacy and image rights of the prince and princess and their children, and ordered the magazine to pay the couple’s legal costs in France and print a judicial notice acknowledging the breach.

The couple had initially sought compensation but their French counsel informed the court they would prefer the publication of the notice because the case was a matter of principle.

An English translation of the notice, which appears in the latest edition of the magazine, was headlined “Judicial publication at the request of the Prince and Princess of Wales”.

It read: “By order dated 18 September 2025, the urgent applications judge of the Nanterre Judicial Court found that the publication of an article and photographs in the magazine Paris Match issue no 3962 dated 10 April 2025, in addition to the publication that was made on the social media pages of Paris Match, 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.”

The couple took legal action against another French magazine Closer that published topless pictures of Kate.

The photos, taken as Kate holidayed with her husband at a private chateau in Provence, southern France, adorned the front and inside pages of the publication in September 2012.

It took a number of years for the legal action to go through the French judicial system and resulted in the prince and princess being awarded tens of thousands of Euros in damages after it was ruled the publication had breached the princess’ privacy.

In their latest legal proceedings the couple were represented in France by Alain Toucas-Massillon, appointed through their UK lawyers, Mishcon de Reya.

It is understood summary proceedings were issued against Paris Match as this route was a faster alternative to substantive privacy proceedings, which usually take one to two years.