Ben shows Princess Kate the ropes

OLYMPIC hero Sir Ben Ainslie rubbed shoulders with royalty when he took the Duchess of Cambridge out sailing.

Macclesfield-born Ainslie was with his America’s Cup team when he took Kate out with the test boat T1 – a foiling AC45 catamaran.

The Duchess took control, steering the boat out on the race course for the forthcoming Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth.

Speaking of the experience, Sir Ben, 39, said: “We had a great sail, it was a blast and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

“There were a few moments from the front of the boat that she was a better helms person than I am so I wasn’t too happy about that so you never know I might give her a place (on the team).”

Sir Ben grew up in the town and went to school at Terra Nova.

One of Sir Ben’s first encounters with the water was on Redesmere Lake, Siddington.

Sir Ben’s uncle and cousin live in the town, as did his grandparents until they died.

After winning gold at the London Olympics the Royal Mail chose to decorate a postbox in Cornwall rather than his Macclesfield birthplace.