Duke and Duchess end Jubilee tour (From Salisbury Journal)

Duke and Duchess end Jubilee tour

5:19am Wednesday 19th September 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are travelling back to the UK after a Diamond Jubilee tour that was at times overshadowed by the media furore that followed the publication of topless pictures of Kate.

The royal couple said goodbye to their hosts on the Pacific island of Tuvalu on Tuesday night after delighting them by embracing island culture and dancing with locals.

After being presented with gifts, they boarded a plane bound for Britain, but during the tour, which also saw them visit Singapore, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands, media headlines were often dominated by the row over the publication of pictures of Kate sunbathing topless.

The couple succeeded in getting an injunction from a French court which has stopped France's Closer magazine from printing further intimate images of the Duchess or selling them.

The royals are also awaiting a decision from France's criminal prosecutors about whether they will bring criminal charges against the photographer who took the pictures.

A source summed up how the issue had affected the couple, saying: "From their point of view they were angry when they heard about the photos but once they took the decision to pursue a civil and then criminal action, they were able to put the matter behind them. Since they set the ball rolling it's now down to the law to take it's course."

The source added: "They had one objective to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee it's not for us to judge whether that was a success or not, from their point of view they felt able to do her life, and the diversity of the nations she represents, justice."

The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Nanterre, Paris, ordered France's Closer magazine to hand over all copies of the images it published last week and banned their resale.

The ruling only affects the French magazine and does not to extend to publications in Ireland and Italy which have also used the pictures.

It also prevents French Closer, which is run by a different company to the British version, from using the photos on its website and tablet application.