Prince William is considering legal action over the publication of highly-intrusive photos of a recent skiing holiday he took with wife Kate Middleton and a source exclusively tells In Touch the whole issue is causing a lot of stress at home as the couple struggles to enjoy privacy away from the spotlight and worry about the impact it’s having on their three young kids. 

“They were under the expectation of having privacy and just trying to take a break, this was totally unacceptable,” the insider says, adding the prince’s “temper is really boiling over this one, so no one will be all that surprised if he does take action.”

The Duke and Duchess of Wales jetted off to Courchevel, France for a luxurious skiing holiday and made a stop in Paris for an Aston Villa match during the U.K.’s spring school break. They booked a private chalet, but French paparazzi still managed to snap a few photos of them relaxing with their three kids, Prince George, 11, Prince Louis, 6, and Princess Charlotte, 9. The pics were published by Paris Match on April 9 and, while fairly innocent and actually quite heartwarming themselves, signal a serious threat to the family’s privacy.

“They’re still quite traumatized from that time the French magazine published those topless pics of Kate on holiday,” the source brings up. “The scars from that run deep.” 

Back in 2012, William, 42, sued the French publication Closer, seeking damages for the release of topless photos of Kate, 43. Royal expert Rebecca English described the prince’s reaction as he found out about the pics while on tour in Malaysia, especially as the incident brought up painful memories about how unfairly the media treated his mother, Princess Diana, before her death in 1996.

The prince’s “jaw clenched, he could barely contain his fury,” she wrote in an op-ed for Daily Mail. “His anger was completely understandable: the instinctive reaction of a man whose wife was violated by the paparazzi, a hurtful re-imagining of the harassment he believes his late mother endlessly endured.”

The first source notes, “They won that case against them for invasion of privacy,” and that with this latest misstep by the French media, “they may very well pursue that again.” 

The Waleses are no slouches when it comes to protecting their little ones from prying eyes and the pitfalls of fame. They’ve pushed back many times against media intrusion — as has William’s estranged brother, Prince Harry alongside his wife Meghan Markle — to varying degrees of success, though they’ve definitely succeeded in staking out the claim that their family’s privacy is not to be played with.

“They’ve been standing up for themselves in this area for many years,” the insider explains. “William understands the interest in him, and he often obliges, but that doesn’t mean he has no rights to privacy.” 

“He was out with his family and he’s very protective of his kids and his wife,” the source continues. “It really creeps them out to be followed and photographed like that and, of course, when William sees them upset that sets him off.”