David Cameron calls Hilary Mantel 'misguided and wrong' over Duchess of Cambridge comments What I've seen of Princess Kate at public events, at the Olympics and elsewhere is this is someone who's bright, who's engaging, who's a fantastic ambassador for Britain. We should be proud of that, rather than make these rather misguided remarks. Mantel is one of Britain's most celebrated authors thanks to Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, her novels about Thomas Cromwell, a counsellor to Henry VIII. The Duchess of Cambridge seemed unaffected by the furore as she showed off her baby bump for the first time in public today as she attended her first official engagement of the year. Lewis Whyld/PA Nick Barton, chief executive of Action on Addiction, defended his royal patron, describing her as an "intelligent" woman genuinely interested in the work of his organisation. Asked for his reaction to Mantel's criticisms, Mr Barton said: "I don't think it's for me to comment on that kind of stuff - I speak of what I know, somebody who wants to help, is helpful and genuinely interested and is intelligent." He added: "I've met her several times and I found her to be engaging, I found her very natural, I found her actually genuinely interested in the subject. You can tell a lot from people's questions and she asks really good questions. They're not routine stuff, they're questions of someone who wants to learn. I find her very easy to deal with. A large media presence had gathered outside the treatment centre, with satellite vans for broadcasters lining the road, and photographers standing three deep on the pavements. Mr Barton greeted Kate when she arrived and, looking tanned after her Caribbean holiday, she got a large cheer from well-wishers standing across the street. The Duchess, who is more than four months pregnant and wore a MaxMara dress, clasped her tiny baby bump for a moment before heading inside Hope House. But historians leapt to Mantel's defence saying that the comments had been taken out of context. Professor Mary Beard, the television historian, said: "I would just urge people to read or listen to the whole lecture... which didnt come across to me as a venomous attack on the Duchess, but as a bit of cooly dispassionate analysis on the "female royal body..." which I hope people will read or listen to. It was as much about us, and our investment in the 'body of the queen', as it was about Kate Middleton. She felt that Mantel had been treated unfairly. I would say that the attacks on Hilary Mantel seem to be based on a misunderstanding of what the lecture was really about... so in that sense unfair. Kate Williams, the historian and royal biographer, said that the row had been taken out of context and that Mantel was commenting on the portrayal of the Duchess and not her actual character