Duchess photo police seek mag names

French police investigating the publication of the topless Duchess of Cambridge photographs are gathering information on the magazine that first published them.

The move is part of the opening of their criminal investigation into whether the pictures in French Closer magazine were an invasion of privacy.

A French court ordered police to obtain information on Closer magazine employees after the royal couple filed the criminal complaint on Monday.

Marie-Christine Daubigney, assistant prosecutor for the Nanterre court, outside Paris, said she has instructed police to get the names of some Closer employees, including the journalist who wrote the article.

She said she has not told police to find the photographer who took the pictures because that will be part of a later investigation.

Ms Daubigney denied as “completely untrue” French media reports that police raided Closer magazine headquarters.