Inside the Kate Middleton topless photo scandal that left Charles and William furious with DONALD TRUMP
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: A new book has claimed that Donald Trump's remarks on Kate Middleton’s 2012 topless photo scandal forced Prince William and King Charles to burst into 'torrents of profanity'. The former president took to Twitter to comment after the then Duchess of Cambridge's sunbathing topless photographs in Provence, France, was published in the French magazine Closer.
"Kate Middleton is great--but she shouldn’t be sunbathing in the nude--only herself to blame", the 76-year-old business tycoon tweeted. "Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing? Come on Kate!" The tweet that sparked ‘torrents of profanity’ from Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry was revealed by the sections from Christopher Andersen's upcoming biography The King: The Life of Charles III.
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According to Newsweek, Andersen wrote, "Trump's criticism of Kate resulted in what one Clarence House butler referred to as 'torrents of profanity' from Prince Charles and his sons". The book also states that Charles was 'disappointed' after Trump called him the 'Prince of Whales'. Besides, Anderson wrote that Trump insinuating he 'could have nailed' Princess Diana if he had desired also 'didn't help'. His book also includes other disclosures like the Royal Family trying to 'discourage' a planned visit by Trump to the UK in 2017.
The American journalist also added that Charles, William, and Harry "burned up the phone lines between Clarence House and Kensington Palace, with all three agreeing to work behind the scenes to discourage Trump's visit." At the time, Trump remarked on the topless photos on Fox and Friends, saying, "While we're all fans of Kate, can you imagine why she would ever be out in the nude? Why would she be standing in the nude in a swimming pool or wherever she was? She's Kate. It's terrible what they did, it's terrible to take pictures, but boy, how can you do a thing so stupid?"
A statement was released by St James’s Palace stating the media’s decision to publish the nude pictures was ‘grotesque’. "The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of [Princess Diana], and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so." Kate and William were granted $120,000 in punitive damages in 2017. As per the reports of Closer Weekly, the release of the pictures was described as "painful" by the former Duke of Cambridge who said, "The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy. My wife and I thought we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a family member, and thus enjoy our privacy."
Two executives were fined $45,520 which is the maximum possible fine for offenses under French privacy law. The Express reported the executives and two photographers were ordered to pay approximately $50,000 to the Duchess and the same amount to the Duke.