EXCLUSIVE: Fresh Kate Middleton Nude Shocker — How Future Queen Has Been 'Rocked' by Being Cruelly Targeted With AI Deepfakes Years After Topless Pics Scandal
Kate Middleton has been left shaken after becoming a target of AI-generated images.
Jan. 9 2026, Published 5:35 p.m. ET
Kate Middleton has been left shaken after becoming a target of AI-generated "undressed images" – a fresh digital violation that has reopened old wounds from her earlier paparazzi scandal and placed renewed pressure on social media companies to rein in abusive technology.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Princess of Wales, 43, is among thousands of women whose real photographs have been manipulated without consent using tools available on social media platforms.
AI 'Undressed Images' Trigger New Royal Privacy Crisis
Kate Middleton has been left shaken after AI-generated fake images targeted her online.
The images, which make it appear Kate was wearing swimwear or posed in highly sexualized settings, were generated using Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI, the company owned by Elon Musk.
The issue has prompted the U.K.'s media regulator to intervene as concerns mounted over social media safeguards and obligations of tech bosses under online safety laws.
Watchdog organization Ofcom confirmed it has made "urgent contact" with X and xAI after discovering the tool could be prompted to produce realistic "undressed images" of identifiable people.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: "Tackling illegal online harm and protecting children remain urgent priorities for Ofcom. We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children."
The spokesperson added: "We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the United Kingdom."
They continued: "Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation."
Palace Sources Say Kate Is Deeply Shaken
Royal sources said the incident deeply unsettled the Princess of Wales.
Sources close to the royal household said the episode has been deeply unsettling for Kate, particularly given past invasions of her privacy.
One source said: "This episode has been deeply upsetting for Kate, who believed the worst invasions of her privacy were long over. Being singled out again through AI has felt particularly harsh. What makes it harder is that there's no physical boundary anymore – instead of paparazzi lurking with cameras, images can now be fabricated entirely out of thin air."
X acknowledged problems with its AI system in a statement posted on the Grok account.
It said there had been "isolated cases where users prompted for and received AI images depicting minors in minimal clothing," adding: "xAI has safeguards, but improvements are ongoing to block such requests entirely."
But other AI-generated deepfakes of Middleton have spread like wildfire across the Internet.
The Internet Watch Foundation said it has received multiple public reports connected to Grok-generated imagery.
Old Topless Photo Trauma Resurfaces In New Digital Form
The images spread rapidly across social media platforms without her consent.
Its chief executive, Kerry Smith admitted: "The IWF has received a number of reports from the public relating to suspected child sexual abuse imagery on X generated by the AI chatbot Grok."
She added: "We are still working through these reports, but, so far, we have not seen any imagery that crosses the legal threshold for being considered child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom."
Smith urged stronger tech regulation, calling on the government to require AI firms to build safety measures into their products.
The controversy comes more than a decade after Kate and her husband, Prince William, 43, successfully sued a French magazine over invasive photographs.
In 2012, the couple took legal action against Closer after it published images of Kate sunbathing topless, which were taken during a private holiday in Provence.
More recently, in October 2024, they won a case against Paris Match over long-lens photographs of their family vacation in the Alps.
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Watchdogs warned the technology allows abuse to spread at alarming speed.
Royal sources said the latest fake naked images furore incident underscores how new technologies have revived old threats for the future queen.
One source said: "It's being seen as a new, more extreme form of the same intrusion Kate faced years ago and has rocked her to the core of her being, as it feels highly invasive and nearly impossible to stop or regulate.
"The difference now is the speed, the anonymity behind it, and the sheer scale of how far this kind of abuse can spread."
