Kate Middleton's baby bump photos were published, showing off the Duchess of Cambridge's growing belly is snapped in a skimpy bikini.
And while the tabloids may celebrate the revelation of the bikini-clad Kate's growing bump, the royal family is, undoubtedly, enraged.
The new set of Kate's bikini photos came less than half a year after the media frenzy over her naked photo scandal at a Chateau in France.
And the scandalous photos were published by Italian gossip magazine Chi, the same magazine that published Kate's topless photos back then.
In the Italian magazine, the photos are introduced as "extraordinary images of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their dream holiday in the Caribbean."
"The future mum, now in her fourth month of pregnancy, wears a small bikini that enhances her now visible bump," Chi states.
The pregnant Duchess is seen sunbathing in a blue bikini during her private vacation with Prince Wiliam in the secluded Caribbean island of Mustique.
"William and Kate have been sunning themselves on the exclusive island of Mustique, in a secluded villa, which costs a whopping £19,000-a-week to rent," Marie Claire said of Kate and William's romantic babymoon. That is a whopping $29,000.
When the existence of the controversial photos was initially reported by the Sunday People, the British media all declined to reveal or even see them.
The photos were expected to cause a bidding war in the U.S., Australia and Europe, where they "could fetch more than £250,000 ($392,000) if touted around the world," said the newspaper.
After Chi crossed the line, a spokesperson from the St. James's Palace said the publication of Kate's baby bump photos was “a clear breach of the couple’s right to privacy,”
“We are disappointed that photographs of the Duke and Duchess on a private holiday look likely to be published overseas,” the royal spokesperson added.
Chi's Editor-in-Chief Alfonso Signorini spoke out to defend the magazine's decision to publish the photos of Middleton's growing bump, claiming that the photos do not "wrong the image" of the royal family and "portray a couple in love in a happy moment while they are walking on the beach."
"We cannot talk about violation of privacy when we publish pictures of public people in a public place, out in the open as it is the case of a beach that is visited by other people," Sigorini said.
Chi only marks the first publication to run Kate's bare bump. Australian magazine Women's Day is also set to publish the photos in their newest issue, which will be rolled out on Feb. 18.
"As a magazine that does publish photos of the royals, I am sensitive to the sort of pictures that shouldn't be published," editor Fiona Connolly told the Australian Associated Press.
"These (current) photos were taken on a public beach, the Middletons were openly chatting to other holiday makers. They are certainly not photos that they would disapprove of -- they are happy -- and the fact that the last time we saw Kate looking really unwell, coming out of hospital and at a really tough time for her in her pregnancy -- to see these photos where she's fit and healthy and really glowing is even more reason to celebrate."
