Two charged over stolen pics of Prince William's wife Kate

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, on April 5. Two people were charged over the publication in September of stolen photos of Prince William's wife Catherine that caused a huge furore, according to sources. AFP photo

Two people were charged this month over the publication in September of stolen photos of Prince William's wife Catherine that caused a huge furore, sources said April 24.

According to sources close to the case, the head of the Mondadori Group -- the publisher of glossy magazine Closer where some of the shots were printed -- and a photographer at regional daily La Provence, were both charged.

Judges in the Paris suburb of Nanterre charged the photographer with "invasion of privacy" for taking photos of the former Kate Middleton in a swimsuit while she was on holiday in the south of France with her husband.

Those shots were published in La Provence. But the most intimate shots showing the Duchess of Cambridge topless and having suncream rubbed into her behind by William were published in Closer. Judges are still investigating who took those photos.

Ernesto Mauri, the chief executive of Mondadori, was meanwhile also charged with "invasion of privacy" for having let the topless shots be published.

The publication of the shots in September caused a huge furore, and French authorities promptly banned Closer from any further publication or resale of the topless pictures, while launching a criminal probe into how they were obtained.