Friend of Princess Diana fears 'history repeating itself' with Kate

Video: Topless Duchess Kate photos sadden royal family

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   >>> an international scandal. a french magazine publishing topless photos of the duchess of cambridge sunbathe iing. nbc's sarah james is in kuala lumpur where the royal couple is on a nine-day tour of the reg ab. good morning.

   >> reporter: good morning. word of the photos came as the couple were having breakfast shortly before their visit to a horse of worship and prompted a quick response from the palace. a composed and seemingly carefree duchess of cambridge at the side of husband prince william in kuala lumpur today, but appearances can be deceptive as the couple made their first ever visit to a mosque, word that a french magazine had published topless photos of kate from the couple's recent holiday at a private home in the south of france. the palace spokesman describes the pair as, quote, hugely saddened, to have their privacy invaded in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner, end quote. friday's official response from st. james palace says, quote, 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. a clear aleutiillusion of the death of princess diana . while the driver of the car found later to be intoxicated, the death incensed the world. prince william devastated by his mother's death and troubled by the intensity of media scrutiny reportedly hoped to shield his wife from the darker side of life lived in public.

   >> you have to remember, he was 15 years old sadly when his mother died. even though this is a long lens photo opportunity , as they call, it it's still real invasion of privacy, and for him, of course, will bring back and trigger memories of his late mother, princess diana .

   >> the spotlight also shown recently on william 's brother, prince harry , caught frolicking in a las vegas hotel room , but news of these photos comes as kate had been basking in the glow of rave reviews for her sterling performance during this, only her second overseas tour as a duchess, and just 24 hours after her heralded first speech on the international stage.

   >> thank you.

   >> a somber farewell to kuala lumpur as the duke and duchess headed to the rain forests of borneo. those at the palace say the couple had every expectation of privacy at the remote house where they were staying and saying officials are considering what the couple's legal options might be. meantime, they say the duke and duchess have their focus firmly on the tour. david?

   >> thank you very much this morning. martin bashir is the host of "the martin bashir show." good morning.

   >> good morning, david.

   >> 15 years after the death of princess diana . were you surprised that this has happened?

   >> no, not at all. it's a terribly abysmal echo of what happened to william 's mother. she was pursued relentlessly, as you know. william maintains that the paparazzi played a role in his mother's death. though nobody was actually prosecuted for that, and i think that this is inevitable because people have assumed that it's the british press who pursue the royal family with the greatest aggression, but in fact it's press all around the world that cover the royal family , and that's the issue.

   >> the expectation of privacy is also the issue and whether that is at some level naive for any royal in this media environment, in this case she was at a private villa that was pretty remote.

   >> and the french have far more strict privacy laws than the british or the americans do. so they assume that, but you can't assume anything if you're a member of the royal family .

   >> it was striking to hear the royal family laid down such a very strong statement in reaction.

   >> unprecedented.

   >> unprecedented. do you think they might take legal action . is there some precedent for that?

   >> i don't think they will, because i think the issue is that it's in a different jurisdiction, not in the united kingdom , as i've said, and it will only in some ways make the situation play out longer than it needs to. i think the statement was aggressive because they want to assert the privacy of this couple. they were, after all, on holiday. it was just before this important world tour . princess catherine was delivering her first public speech and they had every reason to believe they would be given prif

   >> i there's context of this, where prince harry most recently caught up in las vegas where he was photographed, pictures partially nude. is there a level of damage control going on now within the royal family to sort of deal with this and at least caution this new generation?

   >> i think that they have already worked very, very hard with each member of the royal family . i think the wedding of william and catherine was in some ways as late as it was because everybody knew that they had a relationship that was ongoing, partly because they were being prepared for this kind of onslaught. it's also a very different situation. remember, harry is the second in line, not the heir to the throne , and he's a single man. it's a totally different set of circumstances. this was a gross invasion of privacy, everybody agrees, and i think that's what has prompted the palace and the palace spokespeople to come out so aggressively against the magazine.

   >> all right. martin bashir , thanks

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