The royal couple broke new ground by visiting a mosque
for the first time during their tour of Malaysia, but all media
attention was on the fact that another member of the royal family was at
the centre of controversy over private images.
Closer
magazine in France said the "exclusive" pictures showed Kate topless on
the terrace of a guest house and were taken during a brief holiday she
enjoyed with William in France last week.
The couple
were staying in Provence at a chateau owned by Lord Linley, the Queen's
nephew, ahead of their Diamond Jubilee tour of south-east Asia and the
South Pacific on behalf of the Queen.
St James's
Palace declined to comment, but speaking before the magazine hit the
streets, royal officials said that if the photos were genuine and were
published, it would be like "turning the clock back 15 years".
The
magazine's French website showed an image of its new front cover with a
heavily pixellated photograph of the Duchess in a bikini apparently
about to remove her top.
But the pictures were not pixellated in the magazine when it was published this morning.
William
and Kate were told about the pictures today before they visited the
Assyakirin Mosque and had also looked at the images on the website.
A source said: "They're saddened their privacy has been breached - if it has been breached."
The source added: "We will talk to our lawyers in London and counterparts in Paris to see what options are available."
He
went on to say: "We're not aware of anyone (in the UK) seeking to
publish so the Press Complaints Commission is not coming into it."
The
pictures are likely to reignite the controversy over privacy which
raged around Prince Harry last month, when embarrassing images emerged
of him frolicking naked in a Las Vegas hotel.
Staying
in a £5,000-a-night hotel suite, Harry was filmed wearing a hat,
sunglasses and colourful swimming shorts, and socialising with
bikini-clad women at a pool party.
The Sun was the
only British newspaper to defy a royal request issued via the Press
Complaints Commission not to publish the photos of Harry in the nude
with an unnamed woman.
Earlier there had been a security scare
when a man believed to be an avid royal fan tried to approach
the royals' chauffeur-driven limousine, apparently with the aim of
handing the Duchess a flower or taking a photograph. He was detained by
local police.
The emergence of the photos comes in
the middle of William and Kate's so far successful Diamond Jubilee tour
which has already taken them to Singapore and on to Malaysia yesterday.
At
the mosque the couple arrived to find two seats waiting for them at the
bottom of marble steps, so they could take off their shoes.
Kate
wore a grey dress by Eulah London with a matching headscarf and in
keeping with Islamic custom when visiting a mosque, her outfit had
sleeves and the hem of the gown was below the knee.
The Duchess's LK Bennett heels slipped off easily to reveal stockinged feet, while the Duke had on black socks.
At
the top of the steps they were greeted by the Imam of the mosque Ustaz
Saiful, director of Islamic religious department Datuk Che Mat Bin Che
Ali, chairman of the mosque Syed Abdullah, general manager of facilities
Shausudin Ishak and head division development manager Datin Faudziah
Ibrahim.
In front of them were row after row of
pillars and the party strode through the one-and-a-half acre site built
in 1997 which can cater for up to 12,000 worshippers at the height of
Friday prayers, with space for a further 3,000 in the grounds.
Surrounded
by swarms of press they walked up a flight of stairs to the main prayer
space which was carpeted and brilliantly lit by a huge chandelier.
As
they were guided into the large space, William asked "So is this where
everyone gathers? When is your biggest service? How many people gather
here?" When he was told as up to 12,000 on Fridays, he exclaimed: "Wow.
So many."
The Duchess, whose scarf matched her outfit
and framed her face, was deep in discussion with the development
manager, telling her "It's so peaceful in here," adding: "It's really
amazing."
When the manager mentioned she had been to
Edinburgh University for her degree and masters, Kate said: "Oh wow,
really? Well it's very cold there compared to here," and the two both
covered their mouths giggling.
In front of them were
five men sitting crossed-legged on the floor chanting passages from the
Koran, which was held open on small tables in front of them.
The
couple looked up at a dome above them which was decorated with writings
from the Koran and through the windows of the roof could be seen the
looming Petronas towers, Kuala Lumpur's famous landmark.
Before
leaving the couple stopped to watch three men performing their
ablutions - washing face, ears, hands and feet - which must be done
before prayers can be made.
The trio were bent over running taps oblivious to the couple watching them complete the ritual.
The royal couple
sat down at their starting point to replace their footwear and William
handed Kate her shoes before tying his laces, and the Duchess joked with
her partner telling him "mine are easy".
The Duke
and Duchess arrived in Singapore on Tuesday and are currently in
Malaysia before travelling on to Borneo then the South Pacific.
Malaysia
is a largely Muslim country with laws on public decency which makes the
timing of the publication of the French pictures even more sensitive.
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