Kate Middleton out of cross-channel race

Aug 7, 2007, 12:20 GMT

Kate Middleton, the girlfriend of Britain's Prince William, has been forced to pull out of a charity boat race due to security concerns.

The 25-year-old qualified sailor was among the 21-member all-female crew of The Sisterhood, who will race the all-male Brotherhood across the English Channel to France in the Beauty v Brawn cross-Channel Challenge later this month.

But a spokeswoman for The Sisterhood said: "Kate Middleton has withdrawn from the race due to security issues surrounding the recent media circus."

Kate had been given one of the most demanding positions in the traditional Chinese dragon boat - as helmsman on the tiller - steering and instructing the crew.

A sisterhood source claimed the fashion buyer had been "lent on" by royal aides to drop out of the race.

The insider said: "Kate's really miffed. There's no doubt she was lent on.

"She was our helmsman, very strong and very sporty. It's a huge boss.

"This has been in the planning for months and Buckingham Palace have known about it for three months, so why on earth couldn't they have said something then.

"It was always obvious Kate's involvement was going to attract attention. Instead whey couldn't they have given us advice on dealing with the media, No one even spoke to us."

The Beauty v Brawn race is scheduled for August 25, and will start at Dover's Shakespeare Beach.

The winning team will be the fastest to row the 21-miles to Cap Gris Nez, just west of Calais.

The teams are raising money for the Babes in Arms charity, which sponsors research into abnormalities in newborn babies, and the children's hospice charity CHASE.

The Sisterhood have already raised £64,000.

(C) BANG Media International