HispanicBusiness

The publication of pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge on a private Caribbean holiday has been condemned by St James's Palace.

Images showing the pregnant Duchess strolling along a beach in a bikini on the island of Mustique were published today by Italian magazine Chi.

One of them shows Kate's very slight baby bump as she stands in the sea and is accompanied by the headline "the belly grows".

Another shows the Duke, wearing a pair of shorts, with his left arm around his wife as they walk along a beach.

A spokesman for St James's Palace said: "This is a clear breach of the couple's right to privacy."

Chi - owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi - last year caused outrage when it produced a 26-page special showing Kate topless during a holiday in France.

The Duchess's pregnancy has already been plagued by controversy after a prank radio call at the hospital where she was being treated for extreme morning sickness led to the suicide of a nurse.