The publication of topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge, in a private French chateau, has caused a wave of indignation on Twitter, with many in the media saying the French magazine Closer should not have published the pictures.
Closer's French editor Laurence Pieau teased her followers before the pictures were published, saying: "We can say that after tomorrow's Closer, Harry will feel less alone ..."
They later published a picture of the magazine, with a paper crown on it.
When the pictures were published on Friday afternoon, British media commentators rushed to condemn the magazine's decision.
Many compared the situation to that of Prince Harry, when TMZ published naked photographs of the young Royal who had been playing 'strip billiards' in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Those grainy photos had been taken on a mobile phone, but the pictures of Kate and William, reportedly of the Prince rubbing suncream on his wife's back, were taken by professional paparazzi with a long-lens camera, at a private chateau.
The photos were later published, two days later, by The Sun, who originally mocked up the Harry photos with a Sun intern and a picture editor at the paper.
But others chastised the media for being prudish about the pictures when it comes to Royals, with tabloids and websites often publishing topless photographs of other celebrities.
Many commented on how French privacy laws should have prevented the pictures being published, and compared the invasion of the couple's holiday as harking back to the days when the press hounded the late Princess Diana.
The Telegraph's William Foxton blogged: "I think the statement from Closer is wrong in one key area — that we will never see the future queen in such a position ever again.
"Only the other day, Apple unveiled an 8 megapixel camera that comes as standard on the iPhone 5.
"This not only creates a profusion of cameras ...but also means cameras are much more easily mounted on radio-controlled flying drones.
"Soon, privacy — especially for the royals — will be a thing of the past, and in my opinion, that's a tragedy. "
Harry Page, a photographer who has worked with national newspapers for the past 30 years, told Sky News that the media in Britain had radically changed when it came to publishing pictures of the Royals: "Remember the toe-sucking photos of Fergie, again in the south of France.
"That is exactly 20 years ago this month and there was a scramble for them. But now there is not a single newspaper in Britain who would publish these pictures."
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Celebrity publicist Max Clifford joined the condemnation. "I hope that the Palace sues the photographer and the magazine. It is clearly an invasion of privacy.
"I'm surprised, particularly considering what happened in France to William's mother 15 years ago.
"That adds to the concern and upset it will have caused them.
"The good thing is no editor in this country has published them. If Kate was doing something dangerous or something that would upset the British public, then you could justify it. But her sitting by a private pool topless doesn't come into that."
Clifford said the Royal family could help prevent similar pictures being printed in future by taking legal action.
"If the publisher knows that publishing a picture of Harry, William or Kate in a private setting will cost them a lot of money then they won't do it.
"If they pursue the French magazine and the photographer and successfully sue them - and it costs a lot of money - it's going to put everybody else off and that is why I hope it will happen."