Royal baby: OK! magazine apologises for Kate post

The cover of the July 30 £1 Royal Baby special boasted it had an exclusive with the Duchess' trainer who spoke about how 'her stomach will shrink straight back'

OK! magazine has apologised after the front cover of its latest edition sparked outrage with a feature on Kate Middleton's post-baby "weight loss" regime.

The cover of the July 30 £1 Royal Baby special boasted it had an exclusive with the Duchess' trainer who spoke about how 'her stomach will shrink straight back'.

The mag quickly sparked a furious backlash on Twitter and Facebook with readers branding it "pathetic rot" and vowing to boycott the Richard Desmond title.

Hours before the magazine hit the streets Kate had proudly presented her newborn son and future king to the world.

Wearing a blue polka-dot custom made Jenny Packham dress, the Duchess was praised for showing off her post-baby bump for all to see.

This evening a Northern & Shell spokeswoman apologised for any distress that may have been caused and issued the following statement: "Kate is one of the great beauties of our age and OK! readers love her.

"Like the rest of the world, we were very moved by her radiance as she and William introduced the Prince of Cambridge to the world.

"We would not dream of being critical of her appearance.

"If that was misunderstood because of our cover it was not intended."

[ View the story "Ok! cover story on Kate's 'post baby weight loss regime' sparks Twitter backlash" on Storify]

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It's understood that the edition was sent to the printers at the end of last week before the Duchess had even gone into labour.

The magazine's Facebook page was inundated with angry messages from readers.

Jo Sharpen tweeted: "Vile front page from @OK_Magazine - they should be ashamed. Why is our society so weight obsessed?".

TV presenter Katy Hill called on all mothers to "boycott" the magazine.

Another, Mrs Fong, said: "Let's be honest, all women should boycott it for being so oppressive."

Arlene O'Donnell posted: "Disgusted in you, how dare you start discussing baby weight, this country is creating little girls in the image of what our media peddle as beauty. I will fight tooth and nail to ensure my daughters don't conform to this nonsense. We need to raise happy, strong, confident woman who are at ease with themselves, who they are, what they choose to do."

Belinda Norrington warned the magazine: "Major misjudgement making your front cover about Duchess of Cambridge's alleged weight loss regime so ridiculously close to the birth - will have seriously offended a lot of people who feel it is a totally inappropriate issue 48 hrs after giving birth."

Clare Murray wrote: "Why be so cruel and out of touch with how a normal woman looks after she gives birth! I found it refreshing that she didn't hide the fact that she still had her baby bump. She looked radiant and beautiful, and we shouldn't be putting undue pressure on any woman after she has given birth to bounce back into shape!!! We all need time!! It takes 9months to make a baby after all....."

Andrea Ellison said: "Your latest cover is disgraceful, I will not be buying your magazine ever again and will be asking my friends to support me on this too ..shame on you !

Cat Steele added: "Already speculating on Kate's post baby body 24 hours after she has had her baby? Disgusting, I will never touch one of your magazines. Leave Kate and William alone."

Angry Emma Chester posted: "It's a shame your new issue is focusing on losing weight after birth. Leave new mums be!"

Kim Stewart posted: "Disgusted to see you commenting on Kate's post baby body, OK should be ashamed! Let the new mother enjoy her time with her baby and leave her alone!"

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