Zara Phillips rang the woman seen kissing her husband on a drunken night out in New Zealand to get reassurance that nothing more happened.
The Queen’s granddaughter, who married England rugby star Mike Tindall just six weeks before he was caught on CCTV cavorting with Jessica Palmer, was shocked to discover the pair used to date.
So she asked for a heart-to-heart talk with the Sydney-based socialite.
Clear the air: Jessica Palmer spoke to Zara Phillips on the phone about the incident (pictured in Sydney on Tuesday) Miss Palmer, 29, insisted nothing untoward happened and that they were ‘just two mates mucking around’.
But she apologised profusely for any embarrassment to the 30-year-old royal.
Miss Phillips apparently accepted the explanation and the pair have agreed to put the incident behind them.
A friend said: ‘She took it remarkably well, considering.’
Today the Daily Mail revealed the mystery woman at the centre of the furore as Miss Palmer.
Scandal: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall married just six weeks before he was caught on CCTV cavorting with Jessica Palmer (pictured at the Gloucestershire home last December)
She enjoyed a year-long relationship with Tindall in 2002, shortly before he met his future wife.
When they split they remained close friends.
Miss Palmer has met Miss Phillips on dozens of occasions and even attended the couple’s wedding in July, alongside the Queen.
Three weeks ago CCTV footage emerged of Tindall nuzzling, kissing and hugging a woman during a ‘wild’ night out with the England rugby team in Queenstown, New Zealand at the start of the World Cup.
Miss Phillips was initially said to be ‘dismissive’ of the incident, while her agent insisted the girl was just an old university friend of Tindall, 32.
CCTV footage: Mike Tindall caught flirting with Jessica in The Altitude Bar in Queenstown, NZ
Apology: Jessica (pictured with Mike in CCTV footage) apologised profusely for any embarrassment to the 30-year-old royal
But it now appears she was not aware the pair had been romantically involved.
After flying to New Zealand a week after the scandal broke, she called Miss Palmer, who had fled home to Sydney.
A close friend told the Daily Mail: ‘You can see why they didn’t mention [their relationship] to her before as there was no need to.
'They were close friends and went back to being close friends. But you can also see why Zara was upset.
‘She rang Jess and they had “clear the air” talks. Jess told her nothing happened, nothing untoward and they were just mates mucking around.
'Zara took it very well, they’re still friends and I think just wants to move on.’
Miss Palmer’s former school friend Vanessa Rooth added: ‘She’s upset as this has been blown out of all proportion.’
Tindall’s spokesman has said the star does not want to comment further.
-Verdict on her appeal due today at 7pm -Knox: 'I'm paying with my own life for something I have not done' -Former boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito also makes final plea -Judge has two votes, jury has six in making final verdict -Prison chaplain Saulo Scarabattoli hopeful of release
By Nick Pisa
Scroll down for the case for and against Amanda Knox
Strain: Amanda Knox wipes away a tear as she sits in the court room in Perugia, Italy, this morning on the final day of her appeal
Tearful Amanda Knox today made a dramatic plea for her freedom as she addressed the judge and jury in her appeal trial and told them: 'I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal.'
Knox, 24, spoke for just over ten minutes and needed to pause frequently for breath, at one point the judge asked her if she wanted to speak sitting down.
But the American, who is fighting to avoid a possible life sentence, turned down his offer and after a gentle encouraging squeeze of her hand from her lawyer Luciano Ghirga she addressed the court.
Speaking in Italian Knox pleaded her innocence for the brutal murder of Meredith Kercher and said: 'Esteemed people of the court, it has been said many times that I am a person different than what I am.
Knox looks around her as she enters the court room
'I am the same person I was four years ago, the same person, the only thing that distinguishes me from four years ago is the four years that I have suffered.
'In four years I have lost a friend in a brutal and unexplained way. My faith in the police has been betrayed. I have had to face accusations, injustice and suggestions without foundation and I am paying for my life for something that I did not do.'
Reading without notes Knox added dramatically: 'I am not what they say I am. I am not perverse, violent, disrespectful towards life, people, these things do not apply to me and I have not done the things that have been suggested.
'I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not there. I was not present at this crime.
'I am not a promiscuous vamp.'
Experienced court watchers who have been covering the trial said it was a powerful delivery and much better than the one she had made at her original trial two years ago when she confused the court by saying she did not want the 'mask of an assassin forced upon me'.
Crucially for her this time she also said that she did not kill Meredith - something she failed to do at her original trial and as she spoke her parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, were in tears.
As she spoke there was complete silence in court and the packed chamber listened intently to Knox who added: 'I had never faced such tragedy, suffering, I didn't know how to tackle it, how to interpret it.
'When we learnt Meredith was dead, we just could not believe it. How was this possible ?
'Then I felt scared. A person who I was sharing my life with, who had the bedroom next to me, she was killed in our house and if I was there that night I could have been killed.
'I wasn't there. I was at Raffaele's.'
She then criticised the police who had questioned her that night. She said: 'I had a sense of duty towards justice, the authorities who I put my trust in.
'They were there to find the guilty and to protect us. I put my faith in them absolutely.
'I made myself available for them in those days but I was betrayed - the night of 5/6 November I was pressured, stressed and manipulated.'
Knox has already told the court how she was questioned for 14 hours without a lawyer or an interpreter and was even cuffed twice around the back of the head by police as they demanded answers from her.
Media attention: Television satellite trucks line up outside the court building this morning. It has garnered massive attention around the world
A military police officer asks the media to leave the court room this morning before the hearing began
Scrum: Hundreds of journalists and members of the public line up outside the court as Knox arrived this morning
Her version of the events that evening is crucial to the appeal as prosecutors say she admitted being on the scene and had also provided - wrongly - the name of bar man Patrick Lumumba who was wrongly arrested and held in jail for two weeks before being freed.
Knox also insisted that despite prosecution claims she did not know Rudy Guede who has already been convicted of the murder and added: 'I have never done what they say I have done, it is not as they say it was.'
She went on to dismiss the prosecution - and claims from Meredith's friends - that the two did not get on and said: 'I had a good relationship with all my flatmates. I was messy, carefree but we had a good relationship we were all ready to help each other.
'I shared my life with Meredith, we had a friendship, she was worried for me when I went to work, she was always gentle with me.
Powerful: Knox makes her final plea in Italian in the court in Perugia and, right, former boyfriend Sollecito addresses the judge and jury
'Meredith was killed and I have always wanted justice for her. I am not fleeing from the truth and have never fled. I insist on the truth. I insist after four desperate years for our innocence because it is true. It deserves to be recognised.
'I want to go home. I want to return to my life, I don't want to be punished and deprived of my life, future for something I have not done because I am innocent, Raffaele is also innocent.
'We deserve our freedom. We have never done anything not to deserve it.'
Earlier in his declaration Sollecito had spoken and had told the court: 'I have so much to say but I don't think I have enough time. I just want to tell the court how much I have been suffering.
'I just want to say i never hurt any one, never in my life,' adding: 'I hoped that this would have all been cleared in a short time - instead it did not happen this way.'
Loss: A candle burns in front of a photograph of Meredith at a vigil in Seattle, U.S., where Knox is from
Vigil: Photos of Knox and Sollecito were also present at the private event
Sollecito paused several times and took several sips of water as he spoke and said: 'Amanda and I have been in jail for 1,400 days. These 1,400 days have been spent 20 hours a day in a space 2.5m by 3m - it's difficult to imagine that situation.'
Then turning to the night of Meredith's murder Sollecito said: 'I was in a beautiful situation. I was about to hand in my dissertation for my final degree.
'During that period I met Amanda Knox, she was beautiful, sunny, lively and sweet and that was supposed to be our first weekend together.'
Painting a romantic picture he said: 'We were free that night. Our only aim that night was to have an evening of tenderness and cuddles. The other descriptions just did not happen. This was our simple desire.'
After Knox and Sollecito had addressed the court judge Hellman also spoke sternly to the packed chamber and said: 'We will now retire but I to ask you to reflect on something. This is a court room and not a football match there is no room for supporting when the verdict is read.
'Lets remember that a beautiful girl was murderered and the lives of two other young people are in the balance. So I say again when the sentence is read, respect and silence. Having said that we will now retire and the verdict will not be before 8pm local.'
The final day of the 10-month appeal trial began with Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, making his final rebuttal, stressing how the investigation had been carried out in a climate of 'hostility' towards his client.
Knox, 24, is serving 26 years for the brutal murder of British student Meredith Kercher, 21.
Gone but not forgotten: The family of 22-year-old murdered British university student Meredith Kercher await an appeals verdict expected on Monday
Mr Ghirga told the court that rebuttals had included claims from the prosecution that Knox was 'planning to flee abroad'.
He added: 'I am here to help Amanda for the last time.
'Recordings exist of everyone else who was questioned but one was never carried out, a clamorous error, that of a young lady, Amanda.
The Italian appeal system has a total of eight votes - with the judge getting two and the jury six.
If Knox and Sollecito are cleared of the murder they can walk free within two hours once bureaucratic paperwork had been sorted, even if the prosecution launches a final appeal.
Knox is being held at Capanne prison and Sollecito from Terni.
Knox offered a few prayers at Mass on Saturday afternoon - and even her chaplain at Capanne jail near Perugia said he was hopeful she would be cleared.
Father Saulo Scarabattoli said: ’It was just a usual Saturday for us - Amanda played the guitar and joined in the singing of the hymns as she does every Saturday at Mass - she was very hopeful of being freed and at the same time also very anxious.
Waiting game: Deanna Knox, left, and Curt Knox, right, the sister and father of Amanda Knox, are seen at a court in Perugia, Italy, last Tuesday
‘I hope the truth comes out - and I truly believe that she is innocent of this terrible murder. She is suffering physically and mentally and she is also feeling the pain that Meredith's family are feeling for their loss.
‘They were friends, not best friends, and they had a cordial relationship with each other - she really does feel the pain of Meredith's loss.
‘For me there is no proof that she was involved in this terrible murder and if that is the case then she should be freed - I believe she is innocent and she should be cleared.
‘She has changed a lot in prison - she was just a 20-year-old girl when she arrived and in four years she has been through a great deal emotionally, physically and spiritually.
‘When new inmates come in I always say to them not "what have you done?" but "what are you accused of?" and eventually 90 per cent accept the consequences of what they have done.
‘Ten per cent maintain their innocence and in the end the truth prevails and they are freed - Amanda has always maintained her innocence and the truth I think and hope this will prevail.
‘I always say that people are like gold rings, sometimes they drop on the floor and end up covered in mud but they still remain gold rings - they just need to be cleaned.
‘When I left the prison I gave her a few private words of encouragement and now I will not see her until Monday afternoon when she will be brought back to prison to await the verdict.
‘I truly hope that is the last time I see her and that she can return to the comfort of her family.’
Location: A view of the Perugia house where British student Meredith Kercher was found half-naked lying in a pool of blood in November 2007
Meanwhile, it has emerged Knox danced and sang along with a rock band invited to perform a concert at the prison where she is being held.
For a few hours she forgot the impending restart of the appeal trial by singing and dancing with other inmates at the gig by a local Italian band called Hands of Time.
She has also written the screenplay for their new video.
The concert was the third one that Hands of Time have played at Capanne jail near Perugia this year and each performance is warmly greeted by the inmates with Knox, a known music lover, at the front of every audience.
She has been filmed singing and dancing at a previous concert and the band plan to include the images in the new video when their single The Mistral Blows, is released later this month.
In a statement the band confirmed that Knox had written the screen play for the single called The Mistral Blows and stressed that she had not received any payment.
The band added: ’Knox has shown great attachment and admiration for the band and wrote the screenplay for the song which will be released in October.
‘She has respect and admiration towards us as we have towards her and she has clear artistic talent.’
In the previous gigs the band have sung their own songs as well as Beatles tracks which they played specifically for Knox, who is a well-known fan of the Merseyside Fab Four.
Smiles: Raffaele Sollecito, the former boyfriend of Amanda Knox, is pictured arriving in court as her appeal trial resumed in Perugia on Friday
During her trial Knox raised eyebrows when she appeared in court wearing an oversized t-shirt with the title of one of their songs ‘All You Need is Love’ and she also plays their hits on her guitar while in her jail cell.
One of the group, who would only give his name as Leonardo, said: ’Amanda sang and danced just like all the other inmates. She has written the screenplay for the video The Mistral Blows, which is a song about the wind blowing away the clouds and cleaning up the sky.
‘We sing in English so it's easy for Amanda to follow our lyrics and we gave her a CD of our latest album as a present.
‘It was difficult to say whether the appeal was on her mind as we didn't talk about it to me she was just as mad as the other inmates as she danced and sang along.’
The revelation came as her father Curt said she would be ‘fighting for her life’ when she stands up in court on Monday morning to address the judge and jury just hours before they retire to consider whether she should be freed or spent at least the next 26 years of her life in prison.
Curt said: ’This is her last chance to tell the judge and jury that she had nothing to do with this crime.
‘We are just looking forward to her coming out and we are hopeful that she will be able to come home with us.
‘She has been working on what to say for the last three months now. It will be very heartfelt and it will be painful for us to listen to a 24-year-old girl fighting for her life.
Scene: This graphic shows the layout of the student flat shared by Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher
‘This is an anxious few days for her and the family because the court is deciding what to do with the rest of her life and she is a 24-year-old girl looking at a potential life sentence - she is just doing what she needs to do to survive what is a tough time for her.’
Curt also hit out at suggestions in the Italian media that the family have signed a $1million deal for an exclusive interview with an American TV station - who are said to have a private jet ready to whisk the family back home.
He said: 'That is a total fabrication. It's nonsense. We have one focus and that is for Amanda to come home, private jets and $1million deals is just not in the frame. Talk like this is creating a picture that is untrue about Amanda and our family.’
Knox was jailed in 2009 for Meredith's murder, while the American's former boyfriend computer studies graduate Raffaele Sollecito, 27, was given 25 years although both have denied any involvement in the crime.
Their appeal began ten months ago and has heard from several witnesses but the most damning revelations have come from two court appointed independent experts who have poured scorn on the original police forensic investigation of the crime scene.
Key to the original trial were two bits of evidence - a 30cm kitchen knife found in Sollecito's kitchen on which DNA from Knox was said to be on the handle while that of Meredith's was on the blade and a bloodied clasp from Meredith's bra which was said to have genetic material from Sollecito on it.
However the report concluded that the DNA on the knife from Meredith was so low that it should not be used as evidence while the bra clasp evidence was also dismissed after the experts concluded that it was highly possible it had been contaminated as it had not been bagged for six weeks and was handled by forensic officers using dirty gloves and their hands instead of tweezers.
Meredith, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was in Perugia as part of her Leeds University course and had only been in Italy for two months before she was brutally murdered and Knox and Sollecito were jailed in December 2009.
A third defendant, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast, was also jailed in connection with the brutal killing.
He was handed a 30-year sentence for murder and sexual violence following a fast-track trial in October 2008 which was later cut to 16 years.
Last night a former cell mate of Knox was interviewed on Italian TV and said: ’Amanda is a very good person. She has a kind soul and is a respectful person.’
The woman, who was not identified and interviewed from behind, was said to be in her twenties and to have been in jail for drug offences and was released last month.
She added: ’She told me that want she wants to do above all is run through a field of flowers with butterflies around here, she wants to be outside the walls of the prison.
‘Amanda was kind to me and smiled and said hello to me when I arrived and told me to have faith. She spends all her days writing letters and studying. She is very studious and is learning Italian.’
Her story would appear to back up reports that Knox is a popular inmate at Capanne prison and local MP Rocco Ghirlanda revealed how when she returned to jail on Friday after her hearing there were ‘loud cheers for her’ as other prisoners shouted: ’Good luck Amanda’.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the Royal Marsden to open a new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, Surrey today
It was the hospital Princess Diana chose for her first solo charity trip.
So it is rather fitting that the Duchess of Cambridge should follow suit for her second official engagement since the Royal Wedding with husband Prince William today. Kate was all smiles in an elegant in cream Amanda Wakeley dress and her favourite L.K. Bennett nude heels at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in South London.
A sleep-deprived William, who flew a mercy mission just hours before opening the new £18 million children's cancer unit, looked slightly less sprightly in a navy suit.
William and Kate, both 29, are touring the Oak Centre for Children and Young People which has been built to treat day and inpatients, where they will meet medical staff, young patients and their parents.
During the visit, William will be reunited with Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed him two years ago for the CBBC Newsround programme.
The 12-year-old, who is due to fly to America to receive radiotherapy for a brain tumour, presented Kate with a bouquet of flowers when she arrived at the hospital.
The Duchess is spending her time trying to get to know various charities and good causes so she can decide what her future role will be
Children and hospital staff wait for the couple to arrive
A St James's Palace spokesman told the London Evening Standard: 'The Duke is looking forward to seeing Alice again and finding out how she has been.
'Through his close connection with the hospital he has met many inspirational young people, like Alice, who have shown such bravery in battling their illness.
'Tomorrow, he is keen to show the Duchess the incredible work the Royal Marsden does to help Alice and others like her.'
The sleep-deprived Duke flew a mercy mission to take a sailor to see a seriously-ill relative just hours before today's event
Kate will recieve a bouquet of flowers from Alice Marples, a cancer patient who interviewed Prince William two years ago
William is president of the Royal Marsden - the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of the disease.
He took over from his mother, who took on the role in 1989 until her death in 1997.
William went without sleep last night as he ferried the serviceman from a warship off the Isle of Man to Sandhurst in Surrey.
The royal flew back to his base at RAF Valley on Anglesey just after 9am before making the trip to open the Royal Marsden's new £18 million children's cancer unit in Sutton, south London, a few miles from Sandhurst.
The duke, an RAF search and rescue force helicopter co-pilot, carried out the 'compassionate call-out' during a normal 24-hour shift which also saw him help pick up a casualty with serious head injuries in Snowdonia.
A St James's Palace spokesman said the duke would have got little, if any, sleep and was expected to arrive at Oak Centre for Children and Young People on a royal flight helicopter this afternoon.
His wife, who was in London, was arriving by car.
The royal couple have been enjoying married life together in North Wales since their glittering nuptials in April.
They have deliberately kept a low profile over recent months as the Duke, a flight lieutenant with the RAF Search and Rescue Force, is focusing on earning a promotion to captain.
In Princes we trust: William and Harry are hoping that by bringing Tessa Green on board it will boost their foundation
Prince William and Harry have asked the former chairman of one of their mother’s favourite causes to boost their own charitable foundation.
The appointment of Tessa Green to the board comes as their fund prepares to welcome Kate into the fold.
Mrs Green, 46, stepped down as head of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust earlier this year and is a new director of The Foundation Of Prince William And Prince Harry, St James’s Palace has confirmed.
Smooth transition: The appointment of Tessa Green to the board comes as their fund prepares to welcome Kate into the fold
It is understood Prince William, who is president of the Royal Marsden – as Princess Diana was before him – was keen to appoint Mrs Green to his own cause.
She was a guest at his wedding in April and has an impressive track record of growing the Royal Marsden’s charity arm. It has raised almost £70 million since its launch in 2003.
It is hoped she and her fellow directors will help reinvent the Princes’ foundation, which was set up two years ago.
It provides grants in support of causes about which the Princes are passionate, including young people, the environment and the Armed Forces.
A spokesman for the Palace said: ‘Tessa Green’s wealth of experience in the voluntary and charitable sector will augment the already strong board of trustees at the foundation.’
The board is chaired by Lord Janvrin, the Queen’s former private secretary.
As well as Mrs Green’s appointment, the foundation’s name is set to change to incorporate Kate’s title, the Duchess of Cambridge. ‘It is likely to happen shortly,’ says a Palace spokesman.
Meanwhile, Kate is about to start visiting organisations as she decides which charities she wants to represent.
So far, the 29-year-old has expressed an interest in working with homeless charity Centrepoint as well as children’s foundation Starlight.
She is also believed to be keen to work with disadvantaged youths following her visit to Birmingham after the riots.
‘The idea is to announce the charities she will be taking on in the New Year,’ says a courtier.
Kate also wants to share patronage of the Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre, with her husband.
On Thursday, the couple will open the Oak Centre for children and young people at the hospital’s Surrey branch. It will be Kate’s second charitable engagement since her wedding.
The younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge recently purchased an AC Cobra on eBay – and paid nearly £2,000 for the classic car to be shipped from Ibiza.
James, 23, viewed the car while visiting his uncle, Gary Goldsmith, who lives on the Balearic island.
In mint condition, AC Cobras can fetch up to £70,000.
Two years ago James also successfully bid online for a Land Rover Defender.
Sir Richard Branson has been writing cheques to the guests who lost their possessions when his island home caught fire.
The Virgin supremo’s house on Necker Island was burnt to the ground last month.
And while Sir Richard, 61, has been supervising rebuilding work so the house will be ready for his daughter Holly’s wedding later this year, he has also not forgotten his guests who suffered that night.
‘Many lost all their things, from designer clothes to their laptops. Richard has sent them all cheques for £3,000 each,’ a source said.
Tragedy: Steve Stevenson, 39, and Ty Bell, 21, had been going after black bears when the attack happened
A 39-year-old hunter killed by a wounded grizzly bear yelled out to draw the 400lb male bear toward him in an effort to keep it from attacking his young hunting partner, the man's family said.
Steve Stevenson, of Winnemucca, Nevada, died on Friday after 20-year-old Ty Bell wounded what he thought was a black bear and the two men tracked it into thick cover along the Idaho-Montana border where it attacked at about 10am .
'They both shot it and it kept coming,' Steve Stevenson's mom, Janet Price, said. 'Steve yelled at it to try and distract it, and it swung around and took him down. It's what my son would have done automatically, for anybody.'
'They tracked the bear into an area of heavy cover where Mr. Stevenson was attacked by the wounded grizzly bear,' Lincoln County Undersheriff Brent Faulkner said in a news release late on Friday.
'Mr Bell was able to shoot the bear multiple times, eventually killing it,' he said.
Mr Bell used his cell phone to call for help but Mr Stevenson died from his injuries, Undersheriff Faulkner said.
The area is extremely remote, with no roads and poor communications, said Ron Aasheim of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Authorities reached the scene in helicopters.
'This is big-time back country,' he said. 'There are no roads even close to this thing.'
The two were members of a four-member hunting party from Winnemucca that had been going after black bears in the mountainous, heavily forested region near the Canadian border when the attack occurred.
It's unclear if the attack happened in Idaho or Montana. The sheriff's office said GPS coordinates put the attack directly on the state line.
Mr Stevenson's family said he was an active outdoorsman who had made previous hunting trips to the area.
He worked as a gold and silver miner for a company called Hycroft, said his stepfather, Christopher Price. Mr Stevenson was married and had two daughters, ages 14 and 10.
'He was a great friend to everyone, great fun,' said Ms Price. 'A wonderful man.'
Yellowstone: The have been two other reports of grizzlies attacking people in Yellowstone National Park, some 400 miles south of this latest attack
John Fraley, spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said four agency workers were flown to the remote area by helicopter on Friday.
Mr Stevenson's body was taken out by helicopter and turned over to the Lincoln County authorities in Montana. The sheriff's office said the body was being taken to the Montana State Crime Lab for an autopsy.
Mr Fraley said the grizzly was one of about 45 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates live in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem Area in north-west Montana and northern Idaho.
Mr Fraley said the bear is being taken to the agency's lab in Bozeman for a necropsy.
He estimated the bear's age at six to eight, based on its weight of 400 pounds.
'That's a good-sized grizzly bear,' he said.
Ms Price said the hunters had the necessary licenses to hunt black bears in both states and had decided to hunt in pairs after spotting what they thought were signs of a grizzly bear in the area.
She said they planned to leave the area if they spotted one.
Ms Price said that after Mr Bell shot the bear, the two hunters waited until they thought the bear had died and then tracked it into thick cover.
The incident is under investigation.
It is illegal to kill a grizzly bear, which is listed as threatened in the Lower 48 states, but there was no immediate word if Bell would face any charges.
This is at least the third man killed by a grizzly since July.
In late August, a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, some 400 miles south of here, mauled a Michigan hiker to death. In July, a female bear with cubs in Yellowstone attacked a couple from California, killing the man before fleeing.
This attack comes as Idaho's congressional delegation has proposed amending the Endangered Species Act to clarify that it is legal to shoot a grizzly bear in self-defence or in defence of another person.
The legislation was in response to the case of a northern Idaho man who shot and killed a grizzly cub in May after it and two other cubs wandered onto his property.
Jeremy Hill, 33, was charged with a federal crime of killing a federally protected species, but the case was dropped last week and he paid a $1,000 fine for a noncriminal infraction.
Under the radar: Kate has made secret visits to charities as she follows Diana with her charity work
The Duchess of Cambridge has been secretly visiting the homeless and sick, following in the footsteps of the late Princess of Wales.
Kate has made a series of ‘under the radar’ trips in recent days to learn about several charities, according to St James’s Palace.
Her visits come before she makes a decision as to which she will formally support as a royal patron.
Aides have requested the charities visited do not disclose that Kate has been to see them until an announcement is made.
It is thought her focus will be on the homeless, vulnerable young people, veterans’ issues and conservation. However, she is using the next few months to learn more about a variety of good causes before she decides in the new year.
Her husband’s mother regularly made secret visits to homeless shelters, even taking the young Prince William with her.
The experience is said to have encouraged him to become a patron of the charity Centrepoint as an adult.
William later spent a night sleeping rough in sub-zero temperatures on the streets of London to raise the charity’s profile. Princess Diana was renowned for her charity work and spent time helping children’s and cancer charities, as well as supporting the homeless, HIV and Aids sufferers and victims of landmines.
She even helped to save a tramp from drowning after her car was flagged down in Regent’s Park.
Following Diana: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Absolute Return for Kids charity Gala Dinner. The couple are following the Princess of Wales as the lend their support for charities
A palace source said that Kate had the Duke of Cambridge’s ‘full support’ but was researching the charities independently.
They said the couple had been enjoying their time together at home in north Wales while William continues his work as a search and rescue pilot.
William, a Royal Air Force flight lieutenant based on the island of Anglesey, needs to put in plenty of hours over the coming months in order to become a captain.
A St James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘The Duchess is using the next few months to get to know a number of charitable and other causes better, so she can make well-informed decisions about her future role.
‘The Duchess plans to meet a wide range of people and make private visits.
‘We are not giving a running commentary of the causes the Duchess is looking at. Her interests remain broad at the moment.’
The couple, both 29, want to avoid overshadowing Queen Elizabeth II in the run-up to 2012, the 85-year-old monarch’s diamond jubilee year.
-Damning new witnesses accuse him of ‘overtly sexual’ behaviour -Bouncer Jonathan Dixon arrested for uploading Tindall CCTV -Prospect of embarrassing court case scuppering World Cup
By Simon Parry
Ladies' man: Mike Tindall with rugby fan Janine Jefferis - who is not the girl in the CCTV images - just hours before he was caught on camera with a mystery blonde
Pressure was growing on England rugby captain Mike Tindall last night after a criminal charge was levelled at a nightclub bouncer who blew the whistle on his evening out with a mystery blonde in New Zealand.
Jonathan Dixon – who uploaded CCTV security video on to YouTube showing Zara Phillips’s husband kissing and cuddling the woman in Queenstown last Sunday – was arrested and charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes.
The arrest of the burly 40-year-old bouncer raises the prospect of a highly embarrassing court case in New Zealand that could overshadow England’s World Cup campaign.
Dixon told The Mail on Sunday that he uploaded the footage from security computers at the Altitude bar because he was outraged by Tindall’s ‘sleazy’ behaviour. Dixon was released on bail and will reappear in court in Queenstown tomorrow morning.
As well as a distraction for the England team, Dixon’s court appearance could coincide uncomfortably with Ms Phillips’s imminent arrival in New Zealand to support her husband in the latter stages of the tournament.
Dixon said last night: ‘If my case goes to trial, I want Mike Tindall to appear in the witness box and explain his actions that night.’
Tindall's father Phil said his son had spoken to him and reassured him that everything was okay.
Mr Tindall said his son told him the woman involved in the bar incident was a good friend and that he was focusing on the rugby.
'It’s all just a fuss over nothing, which has only happened because of who Mike is married to.' he told the Sunday Mirror.
'I’ve seen the pictures and must say I don’t recognise the girl in the footage at all, but I’ve been told she’s a friend and I know nothing untoward would have happened.'
Mr Tindall said his son made no mention of his new wife during their conversation. Meanwhile, fresh witnesses to Tindall’s liaison with the blonde have revealed lurid new details of his antics, which cast serious doubts over claims in Britain that Ms Phillips is ‘relaxed’ about his account of the night out.
A spokesman for Ms Phillips has described the woman as a friend of the couple who has known Tindall since university days and who was at their wedding in July. But the Queen’s 30-year-old granddaughter struggled to put on a brave face as she competed in a three-day equestrian event in Ireland this weekend.
Despite the spokesman’s implication that ¬Tindall was indulging in a spot of harmless horseplay with an old pal, witnesses standing close to the couple in the Altitude bar described his approach to her as ‘overtly sexual’.
Tindall, 32, had been drinking with other members of the England team in another bar last Sunday, the day after their narrow victory over Argentina, before they arrived at the Altitude. The captain had already posed for pictures with rugby fans, including pretty Janine Jefferis, who is not the girl he was seen with at the Altitude.
There the players drank shots and beers, surrounded by crowds of admirers including a number of young women. The other team members gradually melted away, leaving Tindall, the blonde and a female friend of the blonde near the nightclub bar at around 1.30am.
Of the other players, only veteran hooker Steve Thompson remained, standing apart from Tindall and the blonde, downing rounds with rugby-loving customers all too eager to buy him drinks.
Six security cameras around the club picked up incriminating but soundless images of Tindall and the blonde becoming increasingly intimate. Witnesses standing close to them said the England captain’s intentions were clear.
‘There was no doubt what he was after,’ said one witness. ‘At one stage he put his hand down the back of her jeans. Then he put his hand up her top at the back, as if he was trying to undo her bra strap.’
Tindall repeatedly tried to persuade the blonde to leave the bar with him, the witness said. ‘He was trying to drag her out of the door by the arm but she pulled free and said to him jokingly, “You’re married.” ’
It was at this point that CCTV cameras filmed the couple cuddling beside the doors before the woman pulled Tindall towards her chest and kissed his shaved head. The witness said the couple then kissed each other on the lips.
The witness added: ‘He appeared a little unsteady on his feet but he kept insisting and pulling on her arm. She eventually gave in and walked out of the bar with him. Her female friend followed behind.’
Tindall’s behaviour in the street outside was even more mystifying for someone sup¬posedly enjoying the company of a platonic friend.
At the end of the silent video footage of Tindall and the blonde posted on YouTube, the player can be seen talking briefly to a passer-by outside the bar.
A second witness told The Mail on Sunday that the footage actually shows Tindall being confronted by a male Australian tourist who recognised him and said: ‘You’re married. Pull your head in, mate.’
The witness said: ‘Someone, I’m not sure if it was Tindall, said, “What goes on tour, stays on tour.” Tindall seemed to stumble forward towards the tourist before he was quickly pulled away by the girl and her friend.
‘After that, Tindall and the blonde walked away from the bar with their arms around each other.’
The blonde’s friend was walking behind as the couple left the Altitude at around 2am, but was nowhere to be seen an hour later when a separate witness saw Tindall and the blonde walk hand in hand past another bar about 500 yards away. ‘There was no one else with them,’ the witness said. ‘I didn’t see where they went.’
Before reporting for a pre-arranged interview at Queenstown police station yesterday, Dixon, who has worked as a bouncer around New Zealand for 20 years, said that he had put the CCTV footage on the internet partly because he believed Tindall’s behaviour had insulted the Royal Family.
Cosy: Mike Tindall is seen with his arm around the blonde woman in the grainy CCTV footage
‘That kind of behaviour is completely wrong,’ said Dixon, who was contacted by police after the owner of the Altitude made a formal complaint about footage from its security cameras being uploaded on to YouTube.
‘In New Zealand we have two national anthems – God Defend New Zealand and God Save The Queen. The Queen is in our national anthem and she is on our bank notes. She’s not just your Queen – she’s our Queen too. This is the man who has just married the Queen’s granddaughter and I thought his behaviour was sleazy.’
Dixon, who had been working at another bar in Queenstown earlier last Sunday night, said he was called to the Altitude at 11.30pm to ‘beef up’ security after the England team arrived. He left at 1.30am and said he saw ‘nothing untoward’ in Tindall’s behaviour up to that point, although he was with the blonde. It wasn’t until the next morning that he heard from amazed colleagues that the couple had become intimate shortly after he left.
Dixon said he obtained the CCTV footage from the Altitude computer banks the next day. Later, he was contacted by a British newspaper which published a story about the episode without any of the footage. Dixon received no payment for the article.
Damning: A still from the CCTV footage showing Mike Tindall with a mystery blonde, which was posted on YouTube
Just good friends: The girl - seemingly kissing Tindall's forehead - is a friend of the couple and was at their wedding, a spokesman for Zara said
Early on Friday, keen to see the footage aired, Dixon uploaded it on to YouTube, ensuring that it was seen by millions of people worldwide within hours.
In a foretaste of what he may argue at his court case, Dixon said: ‘It’s not that I’m the most moral person in the world, but I have a conscience and I was raised well, and I didn’t like what I saw. Anyone who does this kind of thing when they’ve made wedding vows in front of God should be ashamed of themselves.
‘I wanted to tell him, “Mr Tindall, you did something really wrong, not just to your wife but to your nation.”
‘I knew there was no chance of me ever standing in front of Tindall and giving him a piece of my mind about his conduct, so I decided to put it on YouTube so that everyone could see it and form their own opinion.
‘I think that everyone who sees it will think the same as I do: how can you do this? She’s your wife and she’s the Queen’s granddaughter. If this had involved a Maori queen, she would have cut off his head.’
Newlyweds: Mike and Zara on their wedding day in Edinburgh in July
Dixon scoffed at the claims that the blonde was a friend of Tindall and Ms Phillips, saying: ‘If that’s true, Zara should get rid of her friend. I wouldn’t have a friend like that, and if she is a friend of hers, Zara is hanging around with the wrong people.
‘What amazes me is that no one was stopping Tindall. He’s the captain of the England team but no one was keeping an eye on him. If I had seen anything going on, I would have stopped him. I would have gone up to him and told him to watch himself.
‘I’ve heard that some British people who were in Queenstown that night saw him and they were disgusted at what they saw.’
Dixon, who is 6ft 6in tall and weighs 19st 7lb compared with 6ft 1in Tindall’s 16st 9lb, added: ‘If the Queen wants someone to give him a hiding, she should give me a call.’
The blonde seen with Tindall last Sunday night is described by Ms Phillips’s spokesman as an English friend living in Australia who was on holiday at the time of the incident. She is now believed to be back in Australia..
Clear the air: Jessica Palmer spoke to Zara Phillips on the phone about the incident (pictured in Sydney on Tuesday)
Scandal: Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall married just six weeks before he was caught on CCTV cavorting with Jessica Palmer (pictured at the Gloucestershire home last December)
CCTV footage: Mike Tindall caught flirting with Jessica in The Altitude Bar in Queenstown, NZ 
Apology: Jessica (pictured with Mike in CCTV footage) apologised profusely for any embarrassment to the 30-year-old royal
But it now appears she was not aware the pair had been romantically involved. 
