The Prince and Princess of Wales have won a legal battle against a French magazine which published photographs of their private ski holiday in April, Kensington Palace has said.

The images of the royal couple and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, during a break in the Alps had appeared in Paris Match magazine.

A Palace spokesperson described the pictures as “long-lens paparazzi photographs” and said the accompanying article was “grossly intrusive”. The BBC has approached Paris Match for a response.

Prince William and Catherine are known to want to create as private a family life as possible for their three children, and to protect them from media intrusion.

“Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales, have been successful in legal proceedings brought in France against the owner of Paris Match, which published a grossly intrusive article and long-lens paparazzi photographs of their private family holiday in the Alps in April,” the Kensington Palace spokesperson said on Thursday.

“The ruling affirms that, notwithstanding their public duties as members of The Royal Family, Their Royal Highnesses and their children are entitled to respect for their private lives and family time, without unlawful interference and intrusion.

“The Prince and Princess of Wales are committed to protecting their private family time and ensuring that their children can grow up without undue scrutiny and interference.

“They will not hesitate to take such action as is necessary to enforce those boundaries.”

It is understood that the summary proceedings were issued on 28 April, just shy of two weeks after the article was published, with an oral hearing held in June.

Further developments are understood to have taken place in September, with an interim order issued by the president of the first chamber of the Nanterre Court which was sealed into a final order on 14 October.

The court is understood to have ruled that the magazine had infringed the privacy and image rights of Prince William, Catherine and their children, with Paris Match ordered to pay the couple’s legal costs in France and print a judicial notice acknowledging the breach.