'Intimate' pics of Prince Will and Kate stolen

Reuters

HOW MUCH? Photos of Prince William and Kate Middleton on holiday in the Caribbean were offered for sale to a British tabloid.

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A man has been arrested after trying to sell intimate stolen photos of Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton to a London newspaper.

The photos of the couple on holiday in the Caribbean were offered to The Sun newspaper following the theft of a camera believed to belong to Middleton's younger sister Pippa, the paper said.

The snaps, described as some of the most personal and intimate pictures ever taken of the couple, were offered to the paper for £50,000 ($NZ131,000) it said.

More than 40 frames of the future king and his girlfriend, both 26, were held on the stolen camera's flashcard, the paper said.

Several photos showed Kate posing for the camera in her bikini as she enjoyed a yoga-style session on the beach, it said.

Others showed the prince wearing a woman's hat and striking a camp pose like Are You Being Served star John Inman.

Another picture showed Kate and William gazing at each other as they took a dip together in a pool, while others showed them cuddling.

The Sun said it was contacted on Friday by two men, who used the names John and George and met a reporter in a bid to find out what the snaps were worth.

The men, who were secretly photographed by the newspaper, told the reporter they had found the flashcard in a gutter in north-west London.

They tried to sell the photos to the paper for more than £50,000.

The paper handed over all its information to the police and a 25-year-old man was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives in a dawn raid on a house in west London yesterday.

The unnamed man was freed on bail after being questioned for 10 hours, and police were continuing their search for the second man.

A royal source said: "William was very concerned to hear that private pictures of him and the Middleton family had been stolen.

"When the suspects' house was raided they were accompanied by royal protection officers."