Kate Middleton Topless Photos Published By 'Irish Daily Star,' 'Chi' Magazine

The Kate Middleton topless fiasco is spreading like wildfire, as there are still magazines insisting on publishing the topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing with her husband, Prince William, on a terrace during a vacation at a relative's Provence home last week.

The photos first appeared in the French tabloid, Closer, and when Kate and William pursued legal action, the magazine defended the shots as tasteful and beautiful and revealed that they were not intended to be shocking.

Days later, the Irish Daily Star ignored the lawsuit that the royal couple had levied against the first magazine, re-publishing the photos in their own paper, reports Sky News. After the Dublin operation faced threat of closure, the Independent Star, which owns it, asked the editor, Michael O'Kane, to temporarily step down.

"Independent Star Limited has suspended editor Michael O'Kane with immediate effect, pending an investigation into the circumstances that led to the Irish Daily Star re-publishing pages from the French magazine Closer, which contained images of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge," the company released in a statement.

On Monday, an Italian magazine called Chi, which is owned by the same company as the original Closer magazine, featured the pics of the future queen — and more of them — in a special 26-page edition. Chi's editor, Alfonso Signorini, sees nothing wrong with publishing the photos. "This is a deserving topic because it shows in a completely natural way the daily life of a very famous, young and modern couple in love," he wrote.

"It's the first time that the future queen of England has been pictured in such a way, they are natural pictures, there is no morbidity about them," he went on to tell Sky. "There is nothing that could affect the dignity of the person involved, and the Duchess of Cambridge. And lastly they were taken on a public road by photographers on public land."

Chi was also responsible for publishing a photo of Princess Diana receiving oxygen after being fatally injured in her 1997 car accident. It has reportedly not yet been confirmed if the royal family will pursue legal action against either Chi or the Irish Daily Star.

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