Malaysian PM Najib Razak; Britain's Prince William; Malaysia's king Sultan Abdul Halim Mu 'adzam Shah and his wife Queen Haminah Hamidun; Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; and Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor pose for a picture during an official dinner at the royal residence, the Istana Negara, in Kuala Lumpur on September 13. 
Catherine talks to Sultanah Tuanku Haminah binti Hamidun, the Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia, during an official dinner hosted by Malaysia's sultan. 
Britain's Prince William speaks with Linges Warry Apparad, a 14-year-old with leukemia, at Hospis Malaysia Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
Catherine meets leukemia sufferer Zakwan Anuar, 15, at Hospis Malaysia on September 13, 2012. 
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, meet Richard Robless, council member of Hospis Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. 
Schoolchildren wave Malaysia national flags as Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at the Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 13, 2012. 
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visit Kranji War Cemetery Thursday in Singapore. 
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, lay a wreath to pay their respects to WWII dead at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore Thursday. 
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, glances back at war graves as she leaves Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery on the third day of her Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Far East with husband Prince William on Thursday, September 13 in Singapore. 
Catherine signs the visitors' book at Eden Hall on Wednesday. 
The signatures of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (not pictured) mark their visit on Wednesday. 
The royal couple visit Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday. 
The couple look out over a balcony at Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday. 
The duke and duchess pose for a picture with children as they visit The Rainbow Centre in Singapore. 
Prince William and Catherine pose with 4-year-old Maeve Low as they tour the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus during the Diamond Jubilee tour at Seletar Aerospace Park on Wednesday, September 12, the second day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore. 
The duke and duchess applaud as they visit The Rainbow Centre. 
Bystanders crane for photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Strathmore Green, a precinct in Queenstown, a residential district of Singapore on Wednesday. 
Catherine and Prince William watch a performance by the Sunda Pajajaran group on Wednesday. 
Prince William speaks to a child in the crowd on Wednesday. 
Prince William, right, and wife Catherine are welcomed by a lion dance performance on Wednesday. 
Prince William and Catherine tour the Rolls Royce plant on Wednesday. 
Catherine greets a child during a visit to The Rainbow Centre, a children's learning center, on Wednesday. 
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay on day two of her Asia visit with husband, Prince William, Wednesday in Singapore. 
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore. 
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, arrives at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore. 
The royal couple is greeted at the airport on Tuesday. 
After their arrival Tuesday Catherine and her husband, Prince William, visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens. 
Catherine leaves Singapore Botanic Gardens after visiting on Tuesday. 
William stops to speak to an honor guard on arrival at the Istana, home of Singapore's president and working office of the prime minister, during the Diamond Jubilee tour on Tuesday. 
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana for a state dinner on the first day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore. 
- Catherine is "upset" by the claims in the French magazine, a royal source says
- Palace: "We believe a red line has been crossed. We are communicating with lawyers"
- The topless photographs are grainy and appear to have been taken with a long lens
- The royal couple is currently on a tour of southeast Asian nations
(CNN) -- A French magazine has stoked controversy by publishing pictures of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, topless while on vacation with Prince William, prompting the threat of legal action from palace officials over what they blasted as a "grotesque" invasion of privacy.
The pictures were taken while the couple was staying at a private chateau in Provence, in southern France, according to Closer magazine.
A spokesman for St. James's Palace told CNN the photos appeared to be genuine.
"We believe a red line has been crossed. We are communicating with French lawyers," he said.
A royal source told CNN the Duchess of Cambridge is "upset" by the claims in the French magazine.
The photographs, which are grainy and appear to have been taken with a long lens, cannot be accessed on the website of Closer in France, which shows only the magazine's front cover with heavily blurred-out images.
A statement from St. James's Palace said: "Their Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that a French publication and a photographer have invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner.
"The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so.
"Their Royal Highnesses had every expectation of privacy in the remote house. It is unthinkable that anyone should take such photographs, let alone publish them.
"Officials acting on behalf of Their Royal Highnesses are consulting with lawyers to consider what options may be available to The Duke and Duchess."
The pair remain focused on on their tour on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, the statement said.
Laurence Pieau, editor-in-chief of Closer, posted several comments on Twitter late Thursday promoting the images.
One said: "The world exclusive of #closer tomorrow is Kate Middleton as you have never seen her... and as you will never see her again."
The photographs' publication comes only three weeks after the British royal family was caught up in a media furore over images of William's younger brother, Prince Harry, partying naked in his Las Vegas hotel room.
William and Catherine are currently in Malaysia as they undertake a nine-day southeast Asian tour of Commonwealth nations, which started in Singapore.
The Duchess of Cambridge gave her first public speech in Kuala Lumpur Thursday, at a hospice for terminally ill children and adults. She is the patron of a charity supporting children's hospices in East Anglia, England.
The royal couple will be in Malaysia until Sunday before heading to the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
The Duchess of Cambridge was very conservatively dressed as she visited a mosque in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday.
There was also a security scare when a man lunged at Catherine and tried to give her a flower as she and William left a festival of Malaysian dancing in a park in the capital.
A man was arrested over the incident, a palace source said.
A palace source told CNN: "The Duchess was getting into the car and the Duke was walking round to the other side of the car when an enthusiastic member of the public tried to give her a flower.
"He tried to run forward and throw it into the car. He was very close, right up against the car. He was arrested by local police officers. Royal protection officers were not involved, though they had noticed him in the crowd earlier on. The Duke and Duchess were not in any danger at all at any point."
Closer in France is not affiliated to the magazine of the same name in the United Kingdom.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report
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