Royal baby: OK! apologises to readers following calls to boycott magazine over 'Duchess of Cambridge diet'

Prince William and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge hold the Prince of Cambridge as he makes his first public appearance (AP)

Women across Britain are being urged to boycott OK! magazine, after it printed a souvenir edition just hours after the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth promoting an "exclusive duchess and diet shape-up plan".

The controversial cover of their 30 July issue featured an "exclusive" chat with Kate's personal trainer, followed by the quote: "She's super fit - her stomach will shrink straight back", after the Duke and Duchess had appeared outside St Mary's Hospital to greet the media with their new-born son, Prince George Alexander Louis.

The front cover, which also advertised a "Duchess diet and shape-up plan" inside for readers, was received by wide-spread anger from the public and parenting groups.

After an image of the cover was tweeted, TV and radio presenter Katy Hill immediately reacted and led calls to boycott the magazine using the hashtag #DontBuyOk. She also posted a picture of herself on Twitter, two months after giving birth.

A backlash against the magazine’s cover quickly ensued, with people describing it as "tasteless", a "disgrace" and "vile" for discussing the Duchess’ weight just a day after she had delivered her son.

Ms Hill later tweeted "AMAZING! Hope magazines listen to us now”, as tweets supporting her campaign were posted from across the world.

Katy Hill posted this picture on Twitter in response to OK! magazine's front cover

The magazine's parent company Northern & Shell quickly released a statement in response to the backlash. A statement published in The Guardian read: "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 on our cover it was not intended.”