A court in France has barred a gossip magazine from further publishing topless pictures of who was earlier known as Kate Middleton.

The court ordered the magazine to refrain from publishing any more topless pictures of the wife of Britain's Prince William and asked the magazine owners to hand over the pictures to the royal couple of the UK. The court injunction also restricts France's Closer magazine from selling the pictures to other media outlets.

The court in Nanterre, near Paris had also opened criminal investigations against the photographer and the Closer magazine. The photographer who took the pictures and the magazine are both facing charges of breaching the couple's privacy. The court ruled that the magazine will have to pay a fine of 10,000 euros per day for delaying the delivery of the pictures to the royal couple.

According to a spokesperson, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have welcomes the ruling by the court in France. They are also claiming damages from the magazine for publishing the photographs in a five-page spread on Friday.

The pictures were taken when the couple were on holiday in a chateau in southern France.