Hot on the heels of naked images of Prince Harry playing strip pool during a trip to Las Vegas leaked online, topless images of Kate Middleton are causing a royal stir.

The French magazine Closer has angered the royal family by publishing a series of photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless with Prince William during the royal couple's recent holiday to the South of France.

Complete with the headline "Oh my God!" the teaser photos, available on the magazine's site, show the duchess removing her bikini top before relaxing on a sun-lounger.

The blissfully unaware couple are seen relaxing in the secluded 19th-century hunting lodge in Provence. The lodge is owned by the Queen's nephew, Viscount Linley.

The shots, apparently captured with a long lens, have reignited a debate over the privacy of Britain's royal family and the freedom of the press.

Buckingham Palace's lawyers are said to be considering legal action.

The Duchess of Cambridge is not the first, and probably will not be the last, royal to be snapped revealing a little too much.

IBTimes UK has a look at other red-faced royals who have found themselves caught up in a paparazzi scandal.

French magazine Closer published a series of photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless while on holiday with Prince William

It looks like Prince Harry may have inherited his love of fresh air from his grandfather. The Duke of Edinburgh recently wore a Scottish kilt, the traditional way, for the annual Highland Games.
Unfortunately, going commando and sitting with legs wide open meant that he exposed his crown jewels during the Aberdeenshire event.

Pictures of a naked Prince Harry partying in Las Vegas were published by US celebrity gossip website, TMZ.
In one of the snaps he can be seen standing in front of a woman and protecting his modesty by cupping his private parts.

Following her separation from Prince Charles, Princess Diana was photographed by paparazzi sunbathing topless on Spain’s Costa Del Sol. The British media chose not to publish the images of her bare-breasted.

In August 1992, photos of Sarah Ferguson having her toes apparently sucked by John Bryan, an American financial manager, in southern France were published in the Daily Mirror.
Fergie, who was still married to Prince Andrew at the time, later claimed that he had not been sucking her toes but simply kissing the instep of her foot.

A few weeks before her wedding to Prince Edward, The Sun published a cover story and five-page article featuring photographs of a young Countess of Wessex on holiday in Spain with Chris Tarrant, including a controversial topless photo