Prince William has released a statement over the topless pictures that were taken of his wife, Duchess of Cambridge, whilst the couple were on holiday in France in 2012. It has been read at the trial of six people accused of invasion of privacy and complicity.

The pictures were published without permission in two French publications. French Closer Magazine featured topless photos of the Duchess while La Provence printed swimwear pictures.

The couple have sued for €1.5 million (£1.3 million) in damages.

William's statement said the following: "My wife and I thought that we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a member of my family, and thus enjoy our privacy."

"We know France and the French, and we know that they are, in principle, respectful of private life, including that of their guests."

He added: "The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy."

He said the images were "all the more painful" given the experience of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 as she was being pursued by paparazzi.

Paris-based agency photographers Cyril Moreau and Dominique Jacovides are accused of taking long-lens shots of the couple, including the topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge, from a public road.

The others accused in the case are Closer's Editor Laurence Pieau, Ernesto Mauri, chief executive of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, La Provence photographer Valerie Suau, and Marc Auburtin, the paper's publishing director at the time.

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