''Closer'' is a British tabloid

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

founded in 2005 and published by

Bauer Consumer Media Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, as well as ...

. A French language version followed shortly afterwards, and an American edition began publication in 2013, ending in 2025.

Profile

''Closer'' mainly specializes in celebrity news and gossip, real-life stories, fashion and television/entertainment. There is also a French-language version of the magazine published by

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...

, an Italian media company. The French edition had a circulation of 399,589 copies in 2005. In the spring of 2006, the British parent company East Midlands Allied Press announced that it would separate its French subsidiary, which was eventually acquired in August 2006 by Mondadori for 545 million euros when taking over Emap France. The 2010 circulation of the French version of the magazine was 466,000 copies.

Controversies

In September 2012, the French edition of the magazine printed topless photos of the

Duchess of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge is a hereditary title of nobility in the British royal family, one of several royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom. The title is named after the city of Cambridge in England. It is heritable by male descendants by primogeni ...

(Kate Middleton) taken, apparently with a long telephoto lens from a road 1 km away, while she and her husband

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

were on a private holiday at the

Château d'Autet Château d'Autet is a château located in the Luberon hills of the commune of Viens in the Vaucluse department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. The château lies approximately to the northeast of the village of Gignac, and roughly north of ...

in the south of France. The British edition promised that they would not publish the photographs, and distanced itself from the French edition after receiving numerous complaints. The

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

said it intended to sue the magazine, calling the publication of the photographs a "grotesque and unjustifiable invasion of privacy"; the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Nicholas Witchell Nicholas Newton Henshall Witchell OStJ FRGS (born 23 September 1953) is a retired English journalist and news presenter. The latter half of his career was as royal correspondent for BBC News. Early life and career Witchell was born on 23 Sept ...

stated that "he had rarely seen such a level of publicly expressed anger from the palace over such an incident." In the 10 January 2014 issue, ''Closer'' "revealed the supposed affair" between French actress

Julie Gayet Julie Gayet (; born 3 June 1972) is a French actress and film producer.< ...

and French President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

. The issue was so popular that ''Closer'' "reprinted the issue, with a further 150,000 copies scheduled to hit newsstands" on 15 January 2014. The website of ''Closer'' also saw visitor numbers increase 800 percent to 1.4 million on 10 January 2014.

References

External links

* {{Bauer Verlagsgruppe Celebrity magazines Entertainment magazines Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in France English-language magazines French-language magazines Magazines established in 2005 2005 establishments in France 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Bauer Group (UK) Entertainment magazines published in the United Kingdom Celebrity magazines published in the United Kingdom