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Cheers! Kate gallant in defeat after rowing race with William

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge against each other in Germany river contest.

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Duchess of Camridge

The Duchess of Cambridge was left high and dry when she lost a river boat race against her husband – but was given a large beer in commiseration.

The Duke and Duchess had lined up on the River Neckar in the picturesque German town of Heidelberg and were given the responsibility of acting as the boats’ coxswains, steering the vessels along a stretch of water.

William and Kate in rowing boats
Wiliam is delighted to have beaten his wife (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images)

Honours were even in boat races between the pair, with William winning a dragon boat race in Canada in 2011 but three years later Kate was victorious in a yachting head-to-head in Auckland.

Before the clash began Kate jokingly told her crew: “No pressure, but I do want to beat my husband,” and she was given a huge advantage over William after an Olympic gold medallist was chosen to be in her boat.

Filip Adamski, who was in the winning German eight in the London 2012 Games, was selected as her stroke, while the rest of both crews were made up of local amateur crews from Heidelberg and the Cambridge which is twinned with Heidelberg.

A chivalrous William insisted it was “fine” when told he was up against an Olympic champion as he arrived on the banks of the River.

Royal visit to Germany
The Duchess of Cambridge coxes her team (Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images)

But he admitted to his wife “this could be a challenge” before setting off without any advice on how to cox.

Kate spent several minutes taking tips from her teammates before setting off, admitting she was “worried about crashing” and indicating with her hands that she feared zig zagging along the water.

But her Olympic champion crewmate assured her everything would be fine: “If we crash, we crash together,” he said.

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