Kate Middleton photos taken by British photographer

OHMYGOSSIP — Kate Middleton‘s topless photos were taken by a British photographer, it has been claimed. Pascal Rostain — a French paparazzo — says pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing without her bikini top were taken on the orders of French Closer magazine, who sent the British photographer to camp out close to close to the picturesque holiday home.

“The irony of this whole thing is that the photographer who took these pictures is an Englishman living in the south of France,” Rostain said.

“These photos were taken on the orders of Closer, who asked him to sit around for several days to take them. For his efforts he did not earn a lot. He could have sold them for 10,000 euros. But in fact he was just paid his wages for going to take them. He didn’t put them on the open market either, where he could have earned a lot more.

“As a photographer, I take the pictures I want and let the publication decide whether to print them.

“What they choose to print is not the photographer’s problem, but the editor’s.”

Despite being ordered to hand back all the original photos, and pay some of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s court costs, editor of French Closer, Laurence Pieau, has defended her decision to publish the photos.

“These photos are not in the least shocking. They show a young woman sunbathing topless, like millions of women you see on beaches,” she said.

“Intimate pictures exist that we haven’t published and will not publish. Probably other newspapers will choose to publish them.”