TOPLESS PHOTO OF KATE SADDENS DUCHESS

TOPLESS PHOTO OF KATE SADDENS DUCHESS

Topless photos of Kate Middleton were published on Friday, September 14, in the French magazine Closer.

The pics, which show the Duchess removing her bikini top, were taken when Prince William’s wife was recently sunbathing on vacation at a private home in the South of France, reported the Gossip Cop.

In the five-page Closer spread, photos reveal Middleton stripping down to her bikini bottom and relaxing on a terrace as Prince William rubs suntan lotion on her back.

One caption in the magazine reads, “The last time we saw Kate and William on a balcony it was for their wedding. But they had more clothes on.”

“People always say she doesn’t need to dress up to look good. Well… Kate is proving this,” reads another caption.

Royal aides traveling with the Duke and Duchess in Malaysia, where they’re marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, said the couple was “saddened” by the publication of the photos.

There’s even talk of the royal family exploring legal action for what it believes is an invasion of privacy.

The somewhat blurry photos were shot from a distance where Middleton was clearly unaware that she was under the lens of the paparazzi — in the same country where 15 years ago Prince Williams’ mother, Princess Diana died while fleeing photographers.

“Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them,” said a St. James’ Palace official, adding, “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so.”

A palace official added that the royal family feels “a line has been crossed” with the publication of the photos.

The topless Middleton pics come just weeks after Prince Harry was photographed in Vegas partying nude, a point not missed by Closer.

Another photo caption in the French magazine reads,”Harry started the fashion: these days the Windsors take their clothes off.”