Bild, the German newspaper at the centre of the Duchess of Cambridge bare bottom picture scandal, has followed up Monday's editorial with a cheeky piece entitled: “Look, dear Brits… These 10 bums are our Royal moments,” alongside a selection of 10 pert German backsides.
The article chides: "British media reported on it. And the Brits were a bit BUMmed that we showed Kate in that pose. Hey, don't get too upset about it – we don't want to take your Kate away. We also have amazing backsides in this country – and would like to show you now!"
The publication of a picture of Kate's behind has rekindled the debate about how to protect the privacy of the Royal couple, particularly in the online age. The picture was published as part of an editorial on famous bottoms, showing Kate exposed whilst on a recent tour of Australia after a helicopter blew wind up her dress during a trip to the Blue Mountains near Sydney.
Reportedly, several British newspapers were offered the picture but refused to run it. The image was then hawked around the continent, with Bild the eventual buyers, the newspaper publishing the piece alongside images of reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe. The editorial read: "Khloe, Kim and Kate - backsides which have moved us these past few days."
The article continued: ''The royal helicopter rotor blades swirled up the air so that Kate's summer dress began blowing upwards - affording us a glimpse of her beautiful bum. Never have we been so thankful to a helicopter for creating such a wind."
Speaking to the Huffington Post UK, Royal biographer Marcia Moody, who authored the book Kate: A Biography, said the Duchess would be “disappointed” with the publication but would likely “take responsibility for her wardrobe malfunction.”
“The Duchess was in a public place, and the picture opportunity could have been avoided were she to have had weights sewn into the hem of her dress as the Queen does,” said Moody. “Kate will of course be aware of this, and I think personally she will take responsibility for her wardrobe malfunction. However she is an official representative of her country - not a pop star or model who dresses provocatively for attention - so the couple will be disappointed the publication ran the pictures.”
However, Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams condemned the publication of the latest photographs. Speaking to PA, he said: "I think it's utterly tasteless but it speaks for itself and that was the case with the topless photographs."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been dragged into a series of privacy rows with the foreign press in recent years after photographs were published of Kate in a bikini while she was pregnant, and topless while on honeymoon.
In February last year, Italian and Australian magazines published photographs of Kate with her bump on display while she walked along a beach on the secluded Caribbean island of Mustique.
In 2012, the Prince and Duchess launched a legal case against French magazine Closer that published topless shots of the Duchess taken while she was on holiday in Provence Chateaux. Clarence House releases a statement comparing that publication with the “worst excesses of the paparazzi during Diana’s life.”
The magazine’s editor was unrepentant, saying the resort’s pool was in full view of a public road and easily seen by the public. However, Chateau d’Autet has a secluded woodland setting, and is hundreds of metres from the closest public road – so the royals were in '‘full view'' only as long as they were being viewed through a large telephoto lens.
A Kensington Palace spokesman told PA they had no comment on the current Bild pictures.
