Kate Middleton Caught Up in Fur Protest Between PETA and The International Fur Trade Federation

LONDON – The Duchess of Cambridge has become caught up at the centre of an angry row between pro and anti-fur campaigners after being photographed wearing a coat lined with fake fur.

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The picture was posted on the website of the International Fur Trade Federation, which hailed the recently married Duchess for wearing what it described as “a classy fur-lined coat.”

The IFTA regularly posts pictures of celebrities including Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss, wearing fur items.

But the posting has enraged anti-fur organisation Peta, People for the Ethical Training of Animals, which has told the International Fur Trade Association it must take the photograph down.

Peta says it has checked with with Duchess’s representatives and that the coat worn had a fake lining.

The Duchess' office has confirmed in a letter to Peta that 'Her Royal Highness was not wearing fur. The coat was not lined with fur. We therefore insist that you remove the photo from your social media page and issue an immediate public retraction of your claim."

The letter also read: "To state that the Duchess is wearing fur is not only false but offensive...to portray the new Duchess wearing something so blatantly cruel and contrary to her country's values is insulting."

Peta has threatened legal action against the International Fur Trade Association, which has not yet responded.