The Duchess of Cambridge is said to be “in agony” over new paparazzi pictures that show her on the beach in a bikini with her baby bump clearly visible.
Kate is currently holidaying on the privately-owned Caribbean island of Mustique with her husband Prince William, sister Pippa and parents Michael and Carole.
Related: Why is naked Harry a hero and topless Kate a fool?
Despite the island’s long-standing ban on photographers, an unscrupulous paparazzo has snapped candid pictures of the Duchess and is now trying to sell them for more than $380,000, the Sunday People reports.
The photo set is said to contain pictures of Kate, 31, walking in the surf with William and a bikini-clad Pippa. Her growing baby bump — which she has gone to pains to keep hidden in public — is reportedly clearly visible in all the shots.
“This is unfortunate,” a royal aide said. “They get absolutely no privacy whatsoever.”
The pictures are expected to spark a bidding war in the US, Australia and Europe, but won’t be published in the UK as all British media have promised to respect the royal family’s privacy.
The new image scandal comes just five months after photos of Kate topless — and bottomless — while on holidays at a remote French chateau caused an international furore.
Several publications bought the images and they were widely published on the internet. Kate and William sued the French magazine that originally published the pictures. The photographer has yet to be identified.
Related: Magazine to publish topless photos of Kate
The Australian Women’s Weekly never publishes pictures of royals in private situations, and as such, we will not publish the latest images of the Duchess of Cambridge, just as we declined to run pictures of Kate topless, Prince Harry naked in Las Vegas and Kate and William on their honeymoon.