William and Kate they triumphed in a legal action against Paris Matchwhich he released in April photos stolen during a private stay in the snow with their children George, Charlotte and Louis. The images showed the family on the ski slopes and on the balcony of a chalet in the French Alps.
William and Kate win the case against Paris Match
The case arose in April, when Paris Match dedicated ample space to a series of shots taken with powerful telephoto lenses. The photos immortalized William, Kate and little George (12 years old), Charlotte (10) and Louis (7) engaged in daily activities in the French Alps: descents on the ski slopes and moments of relaxation on the balcony of a chalet immersed in the snow.
After the complaint, the Nanterre court fully accepted the requests of the British royals, issuing a judicial notice which the magazine had to publish in full. The document states that the content “violated the respect due to their private lives and the rights that the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have over their own image”.
The couple’s lawyers had made clear from the beginning the priority of the legal case: not monetary compensation, but the publication of the notice as a public warning. Paris Match was nevertheless ordered to pay the legal costs incurred by the princes.
The official statement from Kensington Palace
A spokesperson for the royals, reports the Guardianissued a detailed statement, underlining the importance of the precedent created by the ruling: «Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales were right in the legal proceedings initiated in France against the owner of Paris Matchwhich published a grossly invasive article and long-focus paparazzi photographs of their private family holiday in the Alps in April.”
William and Kate with their children (Ansa)
The ruling, the statement continues, “affirms that, Despite 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.a, without illegal 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 scrutiny and undue interference. They will not hesitate to take the necessary actions to enforce these borders.”
A repeating precedent: the 2012 case
For the Princes of Wales this is not an isolated victory. In 2012 William and Kate had already obtained a ruling against uin another French magazine, Closerwho had published photos of the princess topless during a holiday in Provence. On that occasion the court sentenced the newspaper to compensation of 100,000 euros (donated to charity) and maximum fines for the director and publisher.
The legal strategy: summary proceedings to speed up
The speed of the legal action was a key element: William and Kate chose the path of summary proceedings. Compared to ordinary privacy lawsuits – which in France can take one or two years – this route guarantees a resolution in a few months. A decisive advantage for limiting the circulation of images and sending an immediate signal to the media. Paris Match, owned by the luxury group LVMH, for its part has not commented publicly on the sentence. The magazine limited itself to hosting the judicial notice, as imposed by the judge.
Real privacy: a delicate balance
William and Kate have always declared that they want to offer their children as normal a childhood as possible, despite the weight of the crown. George, Charlotte and Louis attend private schools, attend official events only on selected occasions and are protected by strict media protocol. And any intrusion perceived as excessive is legally opposed, without hesitation. AND the publication of the photos of the holiday in the snow in the Alps, according to the court, violated precisely this principle: these were not images taken during a public engagement, but shots stolen in a strictly private context. The French ruling thus reinforces the principle that even members of the royal family have the right to moments of intimacy without telephoto lenses pointed at them.