Kate Middleton v Peter Burling, Blair Tuke: Royal races Kiwis in Great Britain SailGP

Kiwi yachting legends Peter Burling and Blair Tuke found themselves up against an unlikely opponent over the weekend: the Duchess of Cambridge.

The royal joined Sir Ben Ainslie's British team in a friendly Commonwealth race against the Kiwis in Plymouth, England, ahead of the formal competition of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix.

The duchess, who is Royal Patron of the 1851 Trust, the official charity of the Great Britain SailGP team, looked to be the lucky ticket as the Brits beat the New Zealanders in their cordial match.

But perhaps she should have stayed on board because Burling and Tuke went on to win the second race of day two, before ultimately winning the Plymouth league of the Sail GP over Australia in second and Great Britain in fourth, behind Denmark.

The Duchess of Cambridge with Sir Ben Ainslie ahead of her friendly race against the Kiwis. Photo / Getty Images

Burling and Tuke were able to meet the duchess ahead of their friendly race and presented her with a framed artwork on behalf of the Kiwi team and its charitable partner, Live Ocean.

"The Commonwealth Race was a pretty special way to start the day," says Tuke. "It was great to spend some time talking to Her Royal Highness about ocean conservation and the power of sport to connect people to such critical messages."

New Zealand SailGP Team co-helmed by Peter Burling and Blair Tuke hold up the trophy as they celebrate on the podium at the Fan Village after winning the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix. Photo / Supplied

Of New Zealand SailGP's win, Burling said: "I think a lot of people would have expected this of us by now and it's great to have put together a good weekend and put in such a dominant performance. We have been working really hard to improve and I think we truly proved that today, we are just so much more comfortable with the boat now than we have been."

The Plymouth series is part of a wider Grand Prix circuit which will see the teams head to Copenhagen next followed by St Tropez and Cadiz.

Overall, New Zealand currently sits in third place behind Australia in first and Great Britain in second.