Honiara, Solomon Islands (CNN) -- More topless photos of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, spilled into public view Monday as Britain's royal family asked a French court to stop further publication of the pictures.
The legal battle raged while the duchess and her husband, Prince William, carried on with an official tour of the South Pacific, including meetings with Solomon Islanders -- some of them topless.
The new photos were published Monday by the Italian gossip magazine Chi, which is owned by the same company that last week published several pictures of a topless Catherine sunbathing in private during a vacation at a private chateau belonging to William's uncle in Provence, in southern France.
The grainy images, shot from a distance, show Catherine on a balcony and appear to be no more revealing than those published last week by the French magazine Closer, the Guardian newspaper reported.
In a related development, Irish Daily Star Editor Michael O'Kane was suspended Monday by Independent Star Limited, publisher of the Daily Star, pending an investigation into the circumstances that led to photographs being republished in that newspaper from the French magazine.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are carried as they bid farewell in Tuvalu on Wednesday, September 19. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- on a tour marking the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II -- are visiting Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. See more of CNN's best photography.
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While some have questioned the furor over topless sunbathing, which is a common practice in parts of France and elsewhere, the issue is less about nudity than it is about privacy, royal biographer Christopher Andersen said.
William and his brother, Prince Harry, still blame the media for the 1997 death of their mother, Princess Diana, in a traffic accident as her driver fled paparazzi, Andersen said. French investigators concluded the driver of the car Diana was traveling in lost control while he was intoxicated.
The royal family is concerned about similar invasions, particularly if William and Catherine have a child, Andersen said.
"This is a deterrent. They're drawing a line in the sand," he said.
Kate upset about topless photos
On Monday morning, the royal family filed a criminal complaint with French prosecutors seeking invasion of privacy charges against the magazine and possibly the photographer, a palace spokeswoman said.
Late Monday in civil court in Paris, lawyers for the royals asked for damages and a court order to prevent the photos from being published again. They also want existing photos taken offline, a palace spokesman said.
Lawyer Aurelien Hamelle denounced the published photos in court Monday calling them an infringement of privacy, CNN affiliates reported.
"It is a scene of married life, intimate, personal, that has nothing to do on a magazine" Hamelle said.
Chi, the Italian magazine, put out its special edition Monday with 26 pages of photos of William and Catherine on vacation.
As editors at Closer did last week, Chi executives defended publishing the photos despite the furor from London.
"It is a story worth publishing in an extraordinary edition because it shows in a natural light the everyday life of a very famous contemporary young couple in love," Editor-in-chief Alfonso Signorini said in a statement.
Chi and Closer are owned by the Mondadori publishing company, which is headed by Marina Berlusconi, a daughter of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"To see a future royal immortalized in a series of pictures, which are certainly neither morbid nor damaging to her dignity, renders her for sure more likable and less anachronistic and distant from of all of us," Signorini wrote.
A French judge is expected to issue a ruling by 6 a.m. EST Tuesday on the civil complaint, reporters from CNN affiliates ITN and BFM have said.
Pacific welcome awaits William and Kate
The criminal case in France involves claims of invasion of privacy against the magazine and possibly the photographer.
French law provides for "draconian sanctions" to protect against this kind of behavior, British lawyer Charlotte Harris said, including orders to take magazines off shelves and the imposition of serious fines.
But even if distribution of the images is contained to a degree, Harris said, the damage is done to the extent that very private information about the duchess has now become public knowledge.
Laurence Pieau, editor-in-chief of Closer in France, defended the decision to publish the images in an interview with CNN affiliate BFM-TV, saying, "We were just doing our job."
Pieau said that there had been no debate at the magazine over whether to publish the photos and that they show the royals "are just like any other couple in love."
Legal analysts suggest that Mondadori hopes to recoup any legal costs and fines it may incur by increasing sales, thanks to the revealing pictures.
According to Mondadori's website, Closer has an average weekly circulation of about 414,000, while Chi sells more than 340,000 copies a week.
Opinion: British privacy should start with British press
William and Catherine's Pacific tour marks a celebration of the queen's Diamond Jubilee anniversary of her reign. They were scheduled to leave Honiara in the Solomon Islands on Tuesday and travel to Tuvalu for the first royal visit to that island nation since 1982. Their tour is scheduled to wrap up Wednesday.
Monday's legal actions in France are the only ones initiated by palace officials. British newspapers have not published the photos, although the Irish Daily Star did Saturday, in a move that palace officials slammed as greedy.
Editor Mike O'Kane told the BBC that Irish readers wanted to know what all the "kerfuffle" was about.
"She's not the future queen of Ireland, so really the only place this is causing fury seems to be in the UK," he said.
In a sign of how divisive the issue of royal privacy has become, the newspaper's co-owner, media group Northern & Shell, said it opposed he newspaper's decision to run the pictures.
The company -- which runs the Irish Daily Star in a joint venture with Independent News & Media but does not exert editorial control over it -- said it was "profoundly dismayed" by the move. Independent News & Media said the decision to publish was regrettable and an investigation into the decision was under way.
The British media are under close scrutiny after revelations of phone hacking and other abuses. The conclusions of an independent judge-led inquiry, which may recommend greater restrictions on media freedoms, are expected by the end of the year.
UK tabloid prints naked Prince Harry pictures
The controversy comes three weeks after the British royal family was caught up in a media furor over images of Prince Harry partying naked in a Las Vegas hotel room.
After Diana: How can intimate royal photos be published in France?
CNN's Alex Felton, Per Nyberg, Laura Smith-Spark and Hada Messia contributed to this report.
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Local participants watch as the duke and duchess conclude the portion of their trip in Tuvalu on Wednesday.
Prince William plays a local game called Te Ano on Tuesday, September 18, in Tuvalu.
Prince William opens a coconut with a machete as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches on Tuesday in Tulavu.
The duke and duchess visit the University of the South Pacific in Tuvalu on Tuesday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Nauti Primary School on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
The royal couple are carried from their plane to a welcoming ceremony in Tuvalu on Tuesday.
The duke and duchess dance with ladies at the Vaiku Falekaupule ceremony for an entertainment program on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, prepares to dance at the Vaiku Falekaupule ceremony on Tuesday.
The couple enjoy a traditional dinner at Tausoa Lima Falekaupule on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, waves goodbye to onlookers as she and Prince William board a plane to leave the Solomon Islands from Honiara on Tuesday, September 18.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are carried from a boat to their plane Tuesday in Honiara, Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands as they continue their tour of the Far East.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William speak with traditional weavers during a visit to a village in the Solomon Islands on Monday, September 17.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, meet young well-wishers during a visit to the Coast Watcher and Solomon Scouts Memorial on Day Seven of their Diamond Jubilee Tour in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Monday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William travel in a traditional canoe during a visit to Tuvanipupu Island in the Solomon Islands on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by dancers as they visit Tuvanipupu Island in Honiara on Monday.
The royal couple visits Tuvanipupu Island in Honiara on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge learn more about poverty and village life in the Solomon Islands.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Burns Creek, a troubled community on the outskirts of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, inspects an honor guard as he arrives at Honiara International Airport in the Solomon Islands on Sunday, September 16.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wave to Solomon Islanders as they leave the airport aboard a truck decorated as a canoe in Honiara on Sunday.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are greeted by Solomon Islanders on Sunday.
Prince William makes a speech at the Government House in Honiara on Sunday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visit Assyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday, September 14, Day Four of the royal couple's tour of the Far East.
The royal couple visits Assyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.
The royal couple put their shoes on after visiting the KLCC Mosque in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
A crowd takes photos of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as they walk in the KLCC gardens in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Assyakirin Mosque on Friday.
Catherine talks to Sultanah Tuanku Haminah binti Hamidun, the Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia, during an official dinner hosted by Malaysia's sultan.
Britain's Prince William speaks with Linges Warry Apparad, a 14-year-old with leukemia, at Hospis Malaysia Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Catherine meets leukemia sufferer Zakwan Anuar, 15, at Hospis Malaysia on September 13, 2012.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, meet Richard Robless, council member of Hospis Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Schoolchildren wave Malaysia national flags as Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at the Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 13, 2012.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visit Kranji War Cemetery Thursday in Singapore.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, lay a wreath to pay their respects to WWII dead at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore Thursday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, glances back at war graves as she leaves Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery on the third day of her Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Far East with husband Prince William on Thursday, September 13 in Singapore.
Catherine signs the visitors' book at Eden Hall on Wednesday.
The signatures of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (not pictured) mark their visit on Wednesday.
The royal couple visit Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday.
The couple look out over a balcony at Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday.
The duke and duchess pose for a picture with children as they visit The Rainbow Centre in Singapore.
Prince William and Catherine pose with 4-year-old Maeve Low as they tour the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus during the Diamond Jubilee tour at Seletar Aerospace Park on Wednesday, September 12, the second day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore.
The duke and duchess applaud as they visit The Rainbow Centre.
Bystanders crane for photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Strathmore Green, a precinct in Queenstown, a residential district of Singapore on Wednesday.
Catherine and Prince William watch a performance by the Sunda Pajajaran group on Wednesday.
Prince William speaks to a child in the crowd on Wednesday.
Prince William, right, and wife Catherine are welcomed by a lion dance performance on Wednesday.
Prince William and Catherine tour the Rolls Royce plant on Wednesday.
Catherine greets a child during a visit to The Rainbow Centre, a children's learning center, on Wednesday.
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay on day two of her Asia visit with husband, Prince William, Wednesday in Singapore.
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore.
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, arrives at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore.
The royal couple is greeted at the airport on Tuesday.
After their arrival Tuesday Catherine and her husband, Prince William, visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Catherine leaves Singapore Botanic Gardens after visiting on Tuesday.
William stops to speak to an honor guard on arrival at the Istana, home of Singapore's president and working office of the prime minister, during the Diamond Jubilee tour on Tuesday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana for a state dinner on the first day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore. See more of CNN's best photography.
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