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The Royal Family was still reeling from the naked Prince Harry scandal – and now a French magazine has published snaps claiming to show Kate Middleton topless.

Our future Queen faces embarrassment today after the revealing pictures of her taken as she and Prince William enjoyed a private sunshine holiday this month were printed.

Kate and Wills thought they would not be photographed as they stayed at the magnificent Chateau D’Autet in Provence, owned by a nephew of the Queen.

But France’s Closer mag obtained images of the pair, now in Malaysia as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour, by the swimming pool – including snaps of Kate, 30, half naked.

The edition boasts: “The Duchess of Cambridge topless on the terrace!”

It follows the controversy of nude pictures of Prince Harry in Las Vegas.

And Closer France editor Laurence Pieau bragged: “We have to say that after Closer magazine comes out, Harry is going to feel a lot less alone.” A Palace spokesman refused to comment until they had judged the authenticity of the pictures.

The hotel in which they were staying is set in 640 acres of rolling countryside in south-eastern France and is owned by Viscount Linley, the late Princess Margaret’s son.

France has some of the strictest privacy laws in the world, but there is a growing celebrity magazine industry which is prepared to accept the very small fines they have to pay.

French Closer was launched in 2005 as a version of the British mag owned by UK publishing company Emap. It was sold in 2006 to Mondadori France, a subsidiary of an Italian company, and sells 400,000 copies a week.

(Image: PA)

Yesterday, Kate chatted to youngsters with terminal illnesses and also gave her first speech abroad at the Hospis Malaysia.

She met Zakwan Anuar, 15, who has leukaemia. He told Kate, patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, she was “very pretty”.

Kate and William earlier carried out their final visit in Singapore with a trip to the Kranji War Memorial. After arriving in Malaysia they had lunch with the PM and dinner with the king at his palace in Kuala Lumpur.