Pippa Middleton calls off U.S. book tour because of Kate’s topless pics

Pippa Middleton, sister of Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, leaves the central court during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 30, 2011.© Thierry Roge / Reuters/Reuters

Pippa Middleton was all set to become even richer and more famous on this side of the Atlantic later this month thanks to a U.S. tour to promote her new party planning book, Celebrate. But the tour has been cancelled out of concerns it might draw further attention to her sister's topless photographs.

Pippa was fielding interview offers from Oprah Winfrey, Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres, according to the New York Daily News. The newspaper added that, according to marketing experts, the 29-year-old sister of the Duchess of Cambridge could have pocketed as much as $600, 000 (U.S.) from appearance fees during the tour.

Problem is, now that the world has seen her sister's boobs, that'll likely come up as a conversation topic during her tour. She's bound to be asked about it by someone, right? And whatever Pippa might do to deflect such questions, the Royal Family does not want any further discussion of the scandal, in any form. And so Pippa's tour has been kiboshed.

"If Pippa is quizzed about Kate's topless pictures, then whatever answer she gives will generate more news about the matter, and upset Will and Kate," an unidentified source told the New York Daily News.

Pippa isn't commenting on how she feels about the matter, but she can't be pleased.

"Viking [her publisher] was hoping that there would be a huge swell of publicity for this book which would lead to sales. Nobody has really ever heard Pippa speak before and U.S. audiences are fascinated by her. This could have launched a new lucrative career here," the source said.

The cancellation of the tour also looks to be hurting Viking because – surprise, surprise – people were more interested in talking to her than they are in her book.

"Viking Press are in a bit of a pickle with publicity for Pippa's long-awaited book," a source told Radar Online. "They have tried to get Celebrate serialized in the States, but no one is interested in that. They just want a piece of Pippa."

Celebrate is set to be published in the U.S. on Oct. 30.