Duchess of Cambridge Baby Bump Bikini Pictures: Kate Middleton Chi Magazine Photos Upset the Royal Family
While Kate Middleton and Prince William were hoping to get away from the public eye on their vacation on the Caribbean island of Mustique, problems with the media followed them from the United Kingdom.
The first photos of the Duchess of Cambridge have been published by the same Italian gossip magazine that released pictures of Middleton sunbathing topless in September, and according to Time Magazine, the royal family is very upset.
The pictures released by Chi, the magazine owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mondadori group, show the 31-year-old walking on the beach with her husband Prince William while wearing a blue bikini, with her baby bump on full display. These images are the first visible photos Middleton is seen with her pregnant belly.
Earlier this month, she was seen maternity shopping at the Selfridge's department store for workout clothes, where she purchased a pair of yoga leggings and checked out sweaters from her favorite brand, Reiss, according to Us Weekly.
St James' Palace, however, is not happy over the bikini shots of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, which it said are an intrusion on the couple's privacy. The royal parents-to-be are very hurt by the unauthorized photos. "It's been a real sour note for the end of their trip," an insider said.
"For Catherine, it was the first time she had shown her baby bump, and so for it to be exposed so quickly has shaken her up a little. They thought with the privacy laws on the island they would be able to spend a moment outside of the house without this happening."
The British tabloid Daily Mirror declined to look at the images and said they will not publish them, out of respect for the royal family, according to New York Magazine. All of Britain's other news outlets also refused to run them.
In other royal news, Michael Christian, the Australian DJ who was suspended in December after he assisted in a prank call to pregnant Middleton's London hospital, was back on air Monday.
Middleton will make her second public appearance since being pregnant at the Hope House in London on Feb. 19.
