Duchess Catherine joined Pippa Middleton for her hen do in France

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, joined Pippa Middleton on a skiing holiday for her hen party.

The 35-year-old royal - who is married to Prince William - spent time skiing in Meribel, France, last month as part of a secret hen party thrown for her younger sister Pippa, who is set to tie the knot with her hedge fund manager fiancé James Matthews next month.

A source said: "Pippa loves skiing so it was her first choice for a hen weekend. They stayed in a really exclusive catered chalet with maids and chef, who ensured that they were totally spoilt."

And insiders say Pippa, 33, and her friends were "showered with gifts" by the owners of the chalet, who wanted to "impress" the royal guests.

They added to The Sun newspaper: "The owners also wanted to impress their royal guests so the girls were showered with gifts. They were given Swatch watches, Ugg slippers, leather-bound notebooks and bespoke fragrances. It was a very small, private party and they had an amazing time."

Pippa and Catherine's trip to the French ski resort reportedly came at the same weekend that Prince William was spotted on his own ski holiday with his friends in Verbier, Switzerland.

Whilst on his holiday, the 34-year-old royal was filmed busting out his old school dance moves inside the Farinet nightclub.

A video filmed by an onlooker shows the Prince dancing in a less than impressive 'dad dancing' style to the hit song 'I Got 5 On It' by American hip hop duo Luniz, before he was then seen grooving to some electronic dance music (EDM).

The royal couple's separate ski trips came in the days before William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, held a ceremony in support of Commonwealth Day (13.03.17), which William was noticeably absent from.

The Prince's younger brother Prince Harry, 32, was in attendance at the event, as was their father Prince Charles.

Also at the ceremony were Prince Philip, Duchess Camilla, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward.

The event marked the start of the Commonwealth Games baton relay, which sees the ceremonial baton travel 140,000 miles over 388 days, visiting each of the 52 Commonwealth nations before arriving in Australia's Gold Coast in time for the start of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.