The editor of a gossip magazine controlled by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to publish as yet unseen topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge.

The 26-page feature will have 30 pictures of the future Queen of England topless.

Although the magazine headline screams about 'a scandal at court' and 'a naked Queen', Alfonso Signorini, the editor of Chi magazine said that the pictures "will not damage her dignity, nor are they in any way morbid".

Both Closer and Chi are published by the Italian publishing group Mondadori, which is controlled by Berlusconi and managed by Marina Berlusconi, his oldest daughter from his first marriage.

The British royal family seems to be heading for a fierce legal showdown with Berlusconi and is already planning legal action against Closer after it published photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing on the terrace of the Autet Château in Provence, southern France.

Meanwhile, William and Kate are continuing on their tour of Singapore, Malaysia, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu on behalf of the Queen.