FIVE THINGS ABOUT A TOPLESS DUCHESS

1 LAWSUIT

A French court on Tuesday fined photographers and gossip magazine executives and ordered them to pay damages to Prince William and his wife over topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge.

2 PRIVATE ESTATE

The pictures of Kate were taken with telephoto lenses while she and William apparently were sunbathing on a patio at a private estate in France’s southern Provence region five years ago.

3 FRENCH GOSSIP MAGAZINE

The couple, who didn’t attend the verdict Tuesday, filed a complaint after the photos were published in French gossip magazine Closer and a regional newspaper in 2012, the year after their wedding.

4 INVASION OF PRIVACY

The court in a Paris suburb concluded that the three photographers and three newspaper executives invaded the privacy of the duchess. Two executives of Closer were each given the maximum US$53,500 fine. In addition, the two executives, along with two photographers working with a celebrity photo agency, were collectively ordered to pay US$59,500 in damages to Kate and the same amount to William.

5 MISSED THE TARGET

The amount is far below the about $1.7 million in damages sought by the royal couple. Their lawyer, Jean Veil, said it will be up to Kate and William to interpret the outcome. The lawyer for Closer called the fines exaggerated.