A Danish magazine’s controversial decision to publish nude photos of the Duchess of Cambridge has left Crown Princess Mary reeling. The “bottomless” photos, shot with a long-range lens and showing Kate changing out of her swimmers on a balcony in France, were run over 16 pages in Se Og Hor, despite Kensington Palace threatening to take legal action.

And it seems that if Mary were snapped in such a state, she could face the same fate. According to Woman’s Day’s Danish sources, the magazine’s editor, Kim Henningsen, has said if he were offered similar pictures of Mary – though it’s believed nothing of the sort exists – he might publish them after “very careful consideration”. But Kim believes Mary is far more careful than her British counterpart.

“Mary knows what to do as a royal. She would never be in pictures like this,” he claims. Still, it’s no wonder Mary has her guard up now more than ever. “Mary has been paranoid for years about such photos being taken of her,” veteran Danish royal photographer Steffen Sorren tells Woman’s Day exclusively. “She is extra mindful when she is close to water and sun [after being] snapped in a bikini some years ago.”

Luckily for Mary, those photos, taken while she was on a yacht off the Sardinian coast in 2009, caused a sensation for all the right reasons, revealing the princess was in super-fit shape. “She has since been vigilant and always looks after herself and keeps herself decent in these situations,” Steffen says.

Read more about the extra precautions Mary takes in this week's Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 15, 2012.