Britain’s Prince William and Princess Kate have secured a decisive legal victory in France after a high-profile privacy case against the magazine Paris Match. The case centered on unauthorized paparazzi photographs of the royal couple and their three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—taken during a private family skiing holiday in the French Alps in April 2025. The ruling, delivered by the Nanterre Judicial Court and confirmed by the royal couple’s Kensington Palace office on October 30, 2025, marks a significant moment in the ongoing struggle between public figures and the relentless gaze of the media.
The controversy erupted on April 10, 2025, when Paris Match, owned by French luxury conglomerate LVMH, published a spread featuring the young princes and princess on the slopes and relaxing on a chalet balcony. The images, captured with a long-lens camera, were accompanied by what the royals described as a “grossly intrusive article” detailing their private family moments. The British press, by contrast, had largely respected the family’s privacy, adhering to an informal agreement that allows for occasional authorized images in exchange for keeping the children—George, now 12, Charlotte, 10, and Louis, 7—out of the limelight during private time.
International outlets, however, have often played by different rules. According to The Associated Press, William and Kate promptly launched legal proceedings in France, arguing that the publication of the photos and accompanying article represented a clear invasion of privacy and a violation of their image rights. The Nanterre Judicial Court agreed, ruling on October 14, 2025, that Paris Match had indeed infringed on the “respect due to their private life and the rights the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have on their image.”
In compliance with the court’s decision, Paris Match was ordered to publish a judicial notice in its latest edition, acknowledging the breach. The notice also appeared on the magazine’s social media pages, ensuring public recognition of the violation. Instead of seeking financial compensation, William and Kate requested the publication of this judicial notice, emphasizing the principle of privacy over monetary redress. The court also ordered Paris Match to cover the royal couple’s legal expenses, which the magazine has since paid, as reported by People.
The royal couple’s spokesperson was unequivocal in their condemnation of the magazine’s actions, stating to Fox News Digital: “Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, have been successful in legal proceedings brought in France against the owner of Paris Match, which published a grossly intrusive article and long-lens paparazzi photographs of their private family holiday in the Alps in April.” The statement continued, “The ruling affirms that, notwithstanding their public duties as members of The Royal Family, Their Royal Highnesses and their children are entitled to respect for their private lives and family time, without unlawful interference and intrusion.”
The couple’s determination to draw a clear line between public and private life is not new. William and Kate have long prioritized shielding their children from undue scrutiny. “The Prince and Princess of Wales are committed to protecting their private family time and ensuring that their children can grow up without undue scrutiny and interference,” their Kensington Palace office reiterated. “They will not hesitate to take such action as is necessary to enforce those boundaries.”
This is not the first time the royal couple has turned to the courts in France to defend their privacy. In 2012, William and Kate sued the French magazine Closer after it published topless photos of Kate, taken while the couple was staying at a private villa in southern France. The case dragged on for years but ultimately resulted in a ruling in the couple’s favor and the awarding of tens of thousands of euros in damages. Reflecting on that case, William said in a statement read at court, according to The Telegraph: “In September 2012, 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. The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy.”
William’s vigilance over his family’s privacy is also deeply personal. He has spoken publicly about his profound distrust of the media, rooted in the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi. Both he and Kate have also been targets of phone hacking by British newspapers, with William previously reaching a private settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers. These experiences have only strengthened the couple’s resolve to keep their children’s lives as normal and undisturbed as possible.
The British media’s tacit agreement to respect the privacy of royal children stands in contrast to the more aggressive tactics of some international outlets. For William and Kate, the legal victories in France serve as both a warning and a precedent. As their spokesperson told People, “They will not hesitate to take such action as is necessary to enforce those boundaries.”
Legal experts note that the French courts have historically offered stronger protections for individual privacy than their British counterparts, particularly for public figures. The rulings in favor of William and Kate underscore France’s commitment to upholding privacy rights, even when the subjects are among the most recognized faces in the world.
For the royal couple, the decision to forgo financial compensation in favor of a public judicial notice was a deliberate statement. Their legal team told the court that what mattered most was a public acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a reaffirmation of their right to private family life. “The ruling affirms that, notwithstanding their public duties as members of the Royal Family, Their Royal Highnesses and their children are entitled to respect for their private lives and family time, without unlawful interference and intrusion,” the palace emphasized.
As the dust settles on this latest legal battle, the message from the Prince and Princess of Wales is clear: they will continue to defend their children’s right to privacy, even as they navigate the demands of public life. The court’s decision stands as a reminder that, at least in some jurisdictions, the right to a private family moment still carries real legal weight—even for those whose lives are so often lived in the public eye.
