Kate Middleton topless photographer to be arrested by French police

Security teams know the identity of the snapper who took pictures of Kate, and are preparing to arrest him this week

Kate Middleton may be laying low after pictures of her sunbathing topless on holiday in France were published by French Closer magazine earlier this year, but the legal battle is rumbling on.

According to reports, French police now know the identity of the snapper who took the controversial pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge, and are preparing to make an arrest.

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It's thought officials have been trying to track the Kate Middleton topless photographer - thought to be male - ever since the magazine was published.

And now they've finally identified him.

Sources say the photographer is expected to be arrest 'imminently', with Prince William and Kate Middleton 'pushing hard' for a custodial sentence.

'The photographer is expected to be held for questioning imminently,' one insider said of the news.

If found guilty, it's thought the snapper could be slapped with a fine of £36,000 and jailed for up to one year.

Royal insiders say the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are still very much pursuing the case, and are determined the photographer who took the pictures will be prosecuted.

'William and Kate are determined to bring the person who took those photos to justice and they’re pushing hard for a custodial sentence,' one revealed.

'They want to make an example of this person.'

In September, it was rumoured that the photographer who took the photos may be British, British, with reports claiming the snapper camped out close to Prince William and Kate Middleton's holiday home on the orders of French Closer magazine.

Pascal Rostain a well known long-lens photographer, claims Closer chose a British snapper living in France for the task, sending him off to the holiday home where Prince William and Kate Middleton were relaxing. 

He also says the photographer, who was first thought to have sold the images of Kate Middleton topless for thousands, was actually only paid his basic salary for completing the job.

'The irony of this whole thing is that the photographer who took these pictures is an Englishman living in the south of France,' Rostain told France Metro newspaper in Lyon.

'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.'

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What do you make of the latest in the Kate Middleton topless scandal? Do you believe the photographer should be brought to justice? Let us know in the comments box below…

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