The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have enjoyed an "amazing" jungle experience in Malaysia as they attempted to put the storm of controversy surrounding Kate's topless photos behind them.

The royal couple were hoisted more than 40 metres up into the rainforest canopy to experience a birds-eye view of the unique eco-system and when they reached ground level Kate found herself quite attached to one local resident - a leech.

Speaking about their time in the tree tops in Borneo, the Duchess said: "That was rather surreal, wasn't it? It was amazing, such a treat, really brilliant to be up there. I could have stayed up there for hours, even though there were a lot of ants."