Prince William and his wife Catherine were winched high up into a Borneo jungle today, as they put on a brave face after topless photos of her were published in a magazine.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the pristine Danum Valley rainforest in Sabah, as part of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations.

kate and william in sabah 1 Ignoring the furore caused by the publication of the pictures by the French magazine Closer , the couple spent 20 minutes trekking through the rainforest wearing long-sleeved safari-style shirts, khaki pants and thick boots to keep out the leeches.

Despite the controversial photos, the humidity and the fact she was dressed down, Kate looked unruffled and grinned throughout, clearly enjoying their stroll through the jungle.

The pair were then winched up a 117-foot (35-metre) tree to a canopy walkway, where they crossed a wobbly Indiana Jones-style bridge to witness up close the jungle paradise in which a new species of frog was discovered two years ago.

The relatively untouched valley is home to endangered orangutans, clouded leopards, elephants, sun bears and sambar deer. The royal couple, however, were not lucky enough to spot any of the rainforest's larger inhabitants.

They had earlier flown by helicopter to the jungle - recommended to them by Prince Charles - from Sabah's capital Kota Kinabalu.

William is a Fellow of the British Royal Society, which runs a research station dedicated to studying the rainforest in the Danum Valley.

Heading to Solomon Islands tomorrow

During the trip they visited the station, where they were briefed on ongoing conservation activities in the area.

"Their trip to Sabah is focused on rainforest conservation. Going to Danum will provide them with a unique insight into it and also the work of the Royal Society," a British High Commission official told AFP .

kate and william in sabah 2 Sabah and Sarawak occupy the northern portion of the island of Borneo, which is shared with Indonesia and Brunei.

Borneo's unique biodiversity is threatened by logging, palm oil cultivation and other development that leads to deforestation. The Sabah rhino is just one species close to extinction, say forestry officials.

The young royals are touring the globe throughout 2012 as part of celebrations marking the 60-year reign of William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

William and Kate will this weekend move on to the Solomon Islands and later visit the island nation of Tuvalu.

They planned to stay spend the night in Sabah's provincial capital Kota Kinabalu. There were no scheduled public functions until they leave for the Solomon Islands early tomorrow.

Royal couple to sue French magazine

Meanwhile, the royal couple has launched legal action for breach of privacy against the publishers of Closer magazine in France.

The duke and duchess of Cambridge learned about the photos yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.

The editor of the French gossip magazine dismissed the suit and said the photographs of Kate sunning herself on a balcony wearing only bikini pants with her husband were "in no way degrading."

The magazine said the images were taken on Sept 5 at the castle of Viscount Linley, a nephew of Queen Elizabeth.

The publication came one month after a British tabloid ran photographs of Prince Harry naked in a Las Vegas hotel.