Kate Middleton’s Nude Scandal Goes National: Pictures Published In Irish Newspaper, Next Up? Italy

The royal family may have to file more than one lawsuit to contain the topless photos of their beloved Duchess Kate Middleton. Despite threats of legal action from the palace, "The Irish Daily Star" -- an Irish tabloid, published the racy photographs on Saturday and an Italian publication plans to follow suit.

On Friday, Kate and William took legal action against "Closer" - the French tabloid that originally released the super-private photos of the couple while they vacationed in the South of France.

The Sun - the British paper which plastered nude pictures of Prince Harry in Las Vegas just last month, opted not to publish the topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge - allegedly out of respect for her privacy.

"The Irish Daily Star" editor Mike O'Kane, came to the defense of the published photos in a brief statement to BBC News, stating, "She's not our future queen," and "The duchess would be no different to any other celeb pics we would get in, for example Rihanna or Lady Gaga."

Silvio Berlusconi - the owner of Italian tabloid, "Chi" is planning to publish a 26-page spread of the photos on Monday. Whether the publication has their hands on far racier shots of Kate and William remains to be seen.  

According to Fox News, "Chi" is part of Berlusconi's publishing empire Mondadori, which also owns "Closer" magazine.

"Chi" editor Alfonso Signorini told the Associated Press he doesn't fear legal action from the British royals since his publication wasn't the first to release the scandalous photos.

"I don't see anything morbid or damaging in them," said Alfonso. "Chi pays attention to respecting people's dignity. I don't think they hurt Kate's image, " adding, "It shows in its total naturalness the daily life of a young, famous, modern couple in love."

A spokeswoman for St. James's Palace said further publication of the photos are "entirely unjustifiable" and will only " upset to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were enjoying time alone together in the privacy of a relative's home."