"They are nice people, but some people see these things and get upset."
Mrs Turton, from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, said her daughter Yvonne and son-in-law Roger had left their house in Bath to comfort Miss Palmer at her home in Sydney, Australia.
Details of Miss Palmer's encounter with newlywed Tindall emerged three weeks ago after a night out in Queenstown at the start of the tournament.
Leaked CCTV footage showed the pair downing shots in the Altitude bar, then kissing and hugging before leaving, arms entwined, in the early hours of the morning.
At the time Tindall's spokesmen did their best to play down the incident.
They also insisted that the girl was an old friend from university and that the player left the bar and went straight back to his hotel.
This week, however, it emerged that the pair had gone to a second bar where Miss Palmer was seen being "extremely flirty" and repeatedly kissing the drunken star.
It is understood, however, that he did return to his room shortly afterwards alone.
The couple first met in 2001, when Miss Palmer was living with her parents in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, and Tindall was playing for Bath.
They started a close friendship which slowly developed into a romantic relationship after she embarked on a law and management degree at Leeds University.
Tindall's parents also live in West Yorkshire, a short drive from the university campus. The pair dated for around a year and it is believed Miss Palmer was his last significant girlfriend before he met Miss Phillips.
Miss Palmer used to work as fundraising manager for a healthcare charity and became a leading light in the ex-pat community in Sydney, attending high profile polo matches and appearing in glossy society magazines.
She stayed in touch with Tindall and even attended his wedding this year in July, as well as senior members of the royal family, including the Queen. The player's spokesman has always stressed that she is a friend of both Tindall and Miss Phillips.
But Miss Palmer's friends have expressed their doubts as to whether or not the 30-year-old royal knew the full extent of her romantic relationship with her husband.
A source who has known Miss Palmer since university said: "It is true to say that they are all friends.
"Zara met Jess through Mike and there have been no issues between them as she has always known her to be a close friend of his.
"But I am not convinced that Zara would have known about the extent of their relationship."
There was no reply at the Palmers' sprawling, four bedroomed home in Limpley Stoke, near Bath, last night.
A spokesman for Tindall and his wife said: "It is not for us to confirm or deny the identity of the person concerned. We really can't comment."
But sources close to the player said he was frustrated that the story was rumbling on.
"He is embarrassed not because he has done anything wrong but because it is overshadowing what the team has achieved [in reaching the quarter-finals],"they said.
"It was a messy, drunken night out. Nothing untoward happened. But he is very sorry for the fuss it has caused."
