A French magazine unleashed a media frenzy on Britain’s royal family on Friday with a spread showing Kate Middleton sunbathing topless with Prince William.

The magazine, Closer, defended its move to publish the photos. Some argue that the Duchess of Cambridge should have known better than to sunbathe topless.

But Hello! Canada editor-in-chief and royal commentator Alison Eastwood said the royal couple was in a “very secluded area.”

“Should she not be allowed to relax, ever, at any point in her life?” she told 680News.

Eastwood added that it is an editor’s decision to publish what they want, but given France’s strict privacy laws, the move was somewhat surprising.

“There’s a fair amount of surprise,” she said. “To some extent, a sense of why would they do this?”

“The fact that somebody would challenge those laws to such a degree by publishing these pictures is quite surprising to many of us in the media.”

Eastwood downplayed comparisons to nude photos of Prince Harry.

“Understandably comparable but really radically different,” she said, adding that the couple had an expectation of privacy at the secluded house.

Buckingham Palace is considering legal action against the publisher.