Hearts of gold: Royals cheer Paralympic stars on to victory

Kate, dressed casually in a Games branded athletic jacket, navy blue skinny jeans and red trainers, watched the British LTA mixed coxed fours beat chief rivals Germany in a thrilling sprint for the line to win Paralympic gold at Eton Dorney.

Kate, one of the Royal ambassadors of the Paralympics, clutched a black umbrella as she entered the venue accompanied by a number of Paralympic Games volunteers and looked on nervously, holding her hand to her mouth as she cheered on the team.

The Duchess, who was joined by the Countess of Wessex and eight-year-old Lady Louise Windsor, could hardly contain her excitement as she celebrated the medal win, punching the air with her fist and clapping her hands above her head.

The rowing team, David Smith, James Roe, Naomi Riches, Pam Relph and cox Lily van den Broecke, added the Paralympic crown to the world title they won last year.

However it had been an otherwise underwhelming morning for the host nation.

There was disappointment for ex-serviceman Nick Beighton and Samantha Scowen as they missed out on third spot in the mixed adaptive rowing sculls final. The pair missed out on a medal by two hundredths of a second.