Prince William, Prince Harry and King Charle s exploded into ‘torrents of profanity’ after Donald Trump wrote about Kate Middleton ’s 2012 topless photo scandal, a new book has claimed.
Back in 2012, photos of a topless Kate on a private holiday with husband William were snapped in Provence, France, and published in the French magazine Closer sparking fury within the royal household.
But Trump - who was elected to the White House four years later - waded into the furore around the controversy and blasted Kate as only having ‘herself to blame’.
The 76-year-old tweeted: “Kate Middleton is great--but she shouldn’t be sunbathing in the nude--only herself to blame. Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing. Come on Kate!”
In Christopher Andersen’s upcoming biography ‘The King: The Life of Charles III’ he claimed that the tweets sparked fury in senior royal circles.
William and Harry, and their father, King Charles all are said to have exploded into ‘torrents of profanity’, the book said, citing a Clarence House butler.
It also led to King Charles reportedly branding Trump ‘detached from reality’ and checking in with American friends whether he could be impeached, the book claimed.
An extract of the book says, according to Newsweek: "Trump's criticism of Kate resulted in what one Clarence House butler referred to as 'torrents of profanity' from both Prince Charles and his sons."
Trump’s standing in the eyes of the Royal Family was already diminished after he had previously made vulgar comments about Princess Diana.
The book said: "It didn't help that Trump had aggressively pursued Princess Diana after her divorce—overtures that were rebuffed—and claimed later on a radio program that he could have 'nailed her if I wanted to,' but only if she passed an HIV test."
The book also claimed that the King was ‘disappointed’ when Trump referred to him as the ‘Prince of Whales’.
However, Trump’s inappropriate comments on the pictures take of Kate didn’t end there.
On Fox and Friends at the time, he also said: “While we're all fans of Kate, can you imagine why she would ever be out in the nude?
“Why would she be standing in the nude in a swimming pool or wherever she was. She's Kate. It's terrible what they did, it's terrible to take pictures, but boy, how can you do a thing so stupid?”
In the aftermath of the pictures, St James’s Palace released a statement saying that the decision to publish them was ‘grotesque’.
It continued: “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of [Princess Diana], and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so.”
In 2017, Kate and William were awarded £91,000 in punitive damages, and two French executives were reportedly slapped with £40,000 fines as well.
In addition to this, the two photographers were ordered to pay £44,000 to the Duchess and the same amount to the Duke.
Kensington Palace declined to comment. The Mirror has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
