Buckingham Palace is still fuming about the topless pictures of Kate Middleton that appeared in the French magazine Closer this week.

The Palace has commenced legal action, and Prince William was said to be intimately involved in crafting the statement that blasted the magazine for invading his privacy.

Meanwhile, an Italian magazine called Chi is planning to run a 26-page spread of the photos next week. And the French magazine, Closer, is saying that it withheld some "more intimate" photos that it will presumably publish if/when it feels moved to do so.

("More intimate"? Are we talking royal porn here? Is that why Buckingham Palace is so freaked?)

Anyway, you will not be surprised to learn who is ultimately pulling the levers and cashing in on this scandal.

Both the French magazine, Closer, and the Italian magazine, Chi, are owned by Italy's Mondadori publishing group.

And the Mondadori publishing group is owned by ...

You guessed it:

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

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