Britain's royal family says it is suing the French magazine that has published topless photos of Prince William's wife Kate.

Calling the incident "reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales," St. James Palace rebuked French Magazine, Closer, after it on Friday published what appeared to be photos of Kate sunbathing topless at a private house in southern France.

"Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them," a St. James's Palace official in London said. "The incident is  and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so."

Royal officials said the royal couple are "saddened" and "very angered" by the incident. 

British publications said the pictures would not be published in the country. 

"They won't get published in this country, and if I was still an editor I would not be publishing them," former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis told BBC radio. "There's absolutely no chance whatsoever that they will be published in this country."

Bauer Media, the owner of the Closer brand, said it didn't know its French licensee was going to publish the photos of William and Kate.

Bauer CEO Paul Keenan called the photos a "gross intrusion" of the couple's privacy.

"We deplore the publication of these intrusive and offensive pictures and have asked that Closer France takes these pictures down immediately from its website and desist from publishing any further pictures," Keenan said in a statement on Closer UK's website.

He said his firm is reviewing the terms of its license agreement with Closer France.

The pictures come just weeks after Prince Harry's naked Vegas photos were published in several publications.