After a public backlash many papers vowed not to use paparazzi pictures in future.
Many later relented but they have been restrained when it comes to 30-year-old Catherine, whose right to privacy royal officials have vigorously pursued in recent years, especially since she married William last year.
St James’s Palace, the office of William, Catherine and Harry, evoked Diana in its condemnation of the pictures published in Closer.
“The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so,” it said.
Roy Greenslade, professor of journalism at City University in London, said that Catherine’s popularity would make it damaging for British newspapers to print the topless shots.
“I have the feeling there would be a bad reaction to obviously intrusive pictures. I think she is quite a popular figure and the idea that they would intrude… might lead to a boycott by readers,” he told the BBC.
But a chilling effect on the British press has also come from the Leveson Inquiry, a judge-led probe into the ethics of the British press that was launched in the wake of the hacking scandal last year.
Roy Greenslade, professor of journalism at City University in London, said that Catherine’s popularity would make it damaging for British newspapers to print the topless shots.
Senior Judge Brian Leveson is due to reveal his findings later this year which could include recommendations for a privacy law or for tough regulation of the British press.
With that sword hanging over their heads, British newspapers have generally been keen to toe the line in recent months.
Max Clifford, a public relations expert known for his close relations with the tabloid press, said he believed that the British media would be changed for good by the Leveson inquiry.
“One of the good things that hopefully will come out of Leveson is that you are going to have a far more responsible press,” he told the BBC.
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