Paris (CNN) Photographs of Britain's Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless on vacation in 2012 were an invasion of privacy, a French court ruled on Tuesday.

The court in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris, awarded 100,000 euros in damages to the duchess and her husband, Prince William. It also slapped both the editor of Closer magazine and the chief executive of the publishing group that owns it with the maximum fine possible under French law (45,000 euros or about $53,500).

The couple had asked for 1.5 million euros (nearly $1.8 million) in damages after the magazine and regional newspaper La Provence published grainy photos that showed the duchess sunbathing topless while on holiday in the south of France.

The photos were taken with long lenses as the duke and duchess stayed at a private chateau owned by Viscount Linley, a nephew of Queen Elizabeth.

William and his wife were on a nine-day tour of Southeast Asia, seen here arriving in Tuvalu in 2012, when the paparazzi pictures where published.

Paul-Albert Inweis, the main lawyer for Closer, called the fines "somewhat exaggerated" after the ruling.