Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was photographed topless last week while on vacation with husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.  The photos have raised a huge scandal and lawsuit, as the usually graceful and reserved young Duchess has never been put in such a compromising position.
The pictures were taken with a high-power zoom lens from a great distance, while Middleton bathed at a private villa in Southern France.  French magazine “Closer” then published the photos, and the Royal couple took legal action to force removal of the pictures from the newsstand.
But was it really so compromising a position?  A 20-something-year-old newlywed sunbathing privately decides to untie her bikini top while tanning.  For virtually any other woman on the planet, this would not be such a problem.
More importantly, Middleton has not caught a break since her engagement to Prince William in Nov. 2010.  Paparazzi hound her constantly, always placing her on the top of the fashion list as they carefully note which designer brand she sports that day.
Perhaps the irony is that the picture valued most now is the one with her wearing nothing at all, at least on top.
While the pictures have not been published in Britain due to privacy laws, the public knows of their existence worldwide.  Middleton should be able to feel secure in the privacy of a vacation home.  It is instances like this that threaten the safety of celebrities and national leaders.  Why must the public humiliate and endanger celebrities to glance into their personal lives?  The answer lies in the world’s obsession with fame and fortune.
This is why celebrity stalking has gone too far.  It doesn’t matter whether Middleton should or should not have been sunbathing topless;  the question is, “how do we know that Middleton decided to slip off her top?”  And the answer is an invasion of privacy.
Prince William’s own mother, Princess Diana, of whom Middleton’s ring originally belonged, famously faced similar fiascos. Throughout her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana was hounded by the paparazzi.  Middleton has had similar issues since her marriage to William in Nov. 2010.  
Many speculate that the paparazzi determined Princess Diana’s fate.  Princess Diana died in a car crash while paparazzi followed her car into a tunnel in France. Diana’s driver struggled to dodge the pursuing paparazzi, as he himself had been drinking. A British government investigation in 2008 concluded Diana’s death was in fact the result of gross negligence of her driver and paparazzi.