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Later today, lawyers for the royal couple are due in court in Nanterre, France, to seek an injunction against Mondadori to prevent further dissemination of the images, which were also reproduced over the weekend by an Irish tabloid. The palace said it would seek damages from Mondadori.

And St. James’s Palace said Sunday that family lawyers would file a criminal complaint against the unidentified photographer or photographers involved. The palace said it would be up to French prosecutors to decide whether to investigate and pursue a criminal case for breach of privacy or trespassing.

Chi editor Alfonso Signorini told The Associated Press over the weekend that he didn’t fear legal action since the photos were already in the public domain following Closer’s publication.

The pictures have rekindled memories in Britain of the media pursuit of William’s mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi.

Britain’s tabloid papers, fighting for their reputations after a series of scandals, have refrained from publishing the pictures, even though they are available on the Internet and in the pages of a tabloid in neighbouring Ireland.

Lawyers for the royal couple will make the request at a Paris court on Monday, also seeking damages from the French magazine, Closer, and an injunction against the publication of further images.

“We can confirm that a criminal complaint is to be made to the French Prosecution Department,” said a spokeswoman for the second in line to the British throne and his wife of 16 months, Britain’s future queen.