Middleton joined the Sisterhood, a 21-strong female crew of a Chinese dragon boat, to raise money for charity, and was due to participate as a tiller when the rowers faced off the Brotherhood, a male crew, in a race across 21 miles of the Channel from Dover to Cap Griz Nez in France.
However, barely a fortnight before the boat race, Middleton was forced to break the news to her team that she would not be participating.
While the official version states that she took the decision after fearing that her high-profile presence might jeopardize the safety of the other girls, sources reveal that she was in reality ordered to drop out by royal aides who fear that her continued role would see the race becoming a major media event.
A Sisterhood rower admitted that Middleton was “really miffed” over having to pull out.
"Kate's really miffed. There is no doubt she was leant on. She was our helmsman, very strong and very sporty. It's a huge loss," the rower said.
And, there is also a sense of anger at the last minute intervention.
"This has been in the planning for months and the Palace have certainly known about it for three months, so why on earth couldn't they have said something then?" said an insider.
"It was always obvious that Kate's involvement was going to attract a lot of attention.
"Instead why couldn't they have given us some advice on how to deal with the media, but no one even spoke to us. Now we've got two and a half weeks to find someone, with which the training is probably impossible," the insider said.
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