Trial of topless Kate Middleton photographers is delayed five months to May

They were due to go on trial charged with invasion of privacy and complicity

Several British papers turned down offers to buy the photos but they appeared in the French version of the magazine Closer (Getty)

The trial of six media representatives over the publication of topless photos of Kate Middleton has been delayed until May.

The case relates to heavily pixelated topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing on holiday in the south of France in September 2012 with Prince William.

Several British papers turned down offers to buy the photos but they appeared in the French version of the magazine Closer. They were later reproduced in several other European publications including Ireland's Daily Star, Italian magazine Chi, which is also owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Mondadori media group, and celebrity magazines in Denmark and Sweden.

Topless photos of Kate Middleton published

Local newspaper La Provence published pictures of Middleton in her swimwear.

According to AFP, the lawyer for two agency photographers, who only recently took over the case, managed to get the case delayed for four months so he would be able to prepare the defence.

The editor of Closer in France, who is the head of the Mondadori group which owns the magazine, regional newspaper La Provence's manager and one of its photographers, and two Parisian agency photographers, were due to go on trial on Tuesday. They were charged with invasion of privacy and complicity.

At the time, French Closer’s editor Laurence Pieau defended her publication’s actions, saying the pictures were “not degrading”.

“These photos are not in the least shocking,” Ms Pieau said. “They show a young woman sunbathing topless, like the millions of women you see on beaches.”

France has strict privacy laws and at the time a Paris court banned Closer from re-publishing the images and ordered the gossip magazine to hand over the originals within 24 hours or face a daily fine of 10,000 euros (£8,000).

After the French Closer published the photos, officials at St James's Palace said “a red line has been crossed”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's lawyer said the published photos were particularly distressing for the pair as it reminded them of difficult memories of Princess Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

“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 spokesperson for the Prince of Wales’ office said at the time.