Pippa Middleton iCloud photo hacking: Police make arrest

There has been an arrest in the reported hacking of the iCloud account of Pippa Middleton, the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said late Saturday.

Detectives investigating the hacking arrested a 35-year-old man in Northamptonshire in central England, police said.

The man was arrested on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offense, and he is now in custody at the south London police station, the Met Police said.

Images of Kate Middleton and her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were reportedly among some 3,000 images stolen when the account was hacked, according to Britain’s Press Association news agency.

Both Britain’s Sun and Daily Mail newspapers reported that an anonymous seller contacted them and offered the images for sale.

The Sun said the cyber thief – who got in touch via an encrypted messaging service and used the pseudonym “Crafty Cockney” – claimed to have images that also included Pippa Middleton at a wedding dress fitting and nude photos of her fiance, financier James Matthews.

The seller demanded “a minimum of ￡50,000” (around $65,000) within 48 hours, as of Friday afternoon in the UK, both newspapers said.

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Pippa Middleton shot to fame in 2011 when she was bridesmaid at her sister Kate's wedding to Prince William in London.

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Middleton appears with best man Prince Harry on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the royal wedding on April 29, 2011.

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Pippa Middleton attends the wedding of Lady Katie Percy, a friend of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, on February 26, 2011.

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Pippa Middleton pictured with her sister Kate, left, and father Michael, in Jerash, Jordan. The Middleton family lived in Amman, Jordan for two and a half years.

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Pippa and the rest of the Middleton family leave the Goring Hotel in London the day after the royal wedding.

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Pippa Middleton and a friend watch a match at the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 30, 2011.

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Pippa Middleton watches a match at the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, London on June 9, 2011.

Pippa Middleton

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“This isnt (sic) an auction it will be a simple process of the highest bid,” the seller reportedly said.

Kensington Palace has given no comment on the reported cyber theft.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service confirmed Saturday that it had received a report concerning the alleged hacking of a personal iCloud account a day earlier.

Specialist officers were investigating, the media office said.

Middleton announced her engagement to Matthews in July. They plan to marry next year.

She was a bridesmaid at the royal couple’s wedding at Westminster Abbey in April 2011 and garnered her own headlines with an eye-catching gown.

William and Kate have sought to protect the privacy of their children in an attempt to give them as normal a childhood as possible. The royal couple has released only a limited number of photos of the children.

It’s not the first time that hackers have targeted Apple’s popular iCloud online data backup service in search of images. In 2014, a hacker leaked a series of pictures showing Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities in the nude.

Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, walk with their three children -- from left, George, Charlotte and Louis -- in Norfolk, England. The photo was featured on the family Christmas card in December 2022.

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William and Catherine walk with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

William and Catherine arrive with George, Louis and Charlotte at a school in Bracknell, England, in September 2022.

Prince Louis holds his hands over his ears as jets roar over Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade in London in June 2022. From left are Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Queen Elizabeth II; Louis; Catherine; Charlotte; George; and William.

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Prince William kisses his son Louis as they pose for a photo in Norfolk that was taken by Catherine in 2019.

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Prince William holds the hands of George and Charlotte as they visit the hospital to meet their new brother.

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US President Barack Obama talks with Prince William as Catherine plays with Prince George in April 2016. The President and first lady Michelle Obama were visiting Kensington Palace.

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Princess Charlotte is seen with her big brother for the first time in this photo released by Kensington Palace in June 2015.

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William and Catherine start an ultra-marathon in Holyhead, Wales, in August 2013. It was Catherine's first public appearance since the birth of Prince George.

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William and Catherine kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony in London.

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Will and Kate's royal family

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CNN’s Simon Cullen and Max Foster contributed to this report.