The Princess of Wales has cheered her team to victory while watching England’s Six Nations match alongside Wales supporter Prince William this afternoon in Cardiff.
Kate, 41, patron of Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), and Prince William, 40, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, appeared in great spirits at the game.
Kate holds bragging rights going into the second half, with England leading Wales 20-10.
The famously competitive royal couple are in the stands at the Principality Stadium to cheer on their respective teams in their Six Nations tie.
In a message on Twitter translated to both English and Welsh, the couple said: ‘What a great half of rugby! Bring on the next 40 minutes.’
Mother-of-three Kate was effortlessly chic in a recycled red and white Catherine Walker houndstooth coat she first debuted in 2018 during a trip to Sweden. Appearing equally patriotic, William sported a red scarf.
Kate took over the Rugby roles from her brother-in-law Prince Harry who used to enjoy cheering on England before he was forced to give up the patronage as part of the Megxit agreement.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have stepped out at England’s Six Nations match against Wales this afternoon in Cardiff
Competitive Kate and William are all smiles (for now) as they cheer on rival teams at England’s Six Nations match
Mother-of-three Kate appeared effortlessly chic in a recycled red and white Catherine Walker houndstooth coat
The Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales in the stands ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff
The Princess of Wales, who grew up watching rugby with her family, is known as one of the sportiest members of the Royal Family and has gamely taken on her husband in everything from dragon boating to wind buggy racing at royal engagements.
She has played tennis and hockey from a young age and is already royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and is a frequent visitor to the Wimbledon Championships.
Less well known is her love of rugby. Her sister, Pippa, wrote in Vanity Fair magazine in 2014: ‘Rugby was a big thing for our family, we’d plan our weekends around the big matches.’
The couple have long been spotted at matches together cheering on their respective teams.
Most recently, they were seen at a match in Twickenham with their son Prince George last year, while they were also known to attend with Prince Harry over the years.
The game on Saturday was only given the green light three days before kick off after Wales players called off strike action when an agreement was reached on a series of contractual disputes with their Welsh rugby bosses.
‘Hopefully we will never end up in this situation again,’ Wales captain Ken Owens said. ‘The biggest positive we can take from all this is how united the players have been and how strongly we’ve backed each other.
‘A lot of us senior players in Welsh rugby have experienced this before. It has definitely galvanised us and that has shown in the unity of the actions that were taken.’
Mother-of-three Kate appeared effortlessly chic in a recycled red and white Catherine Walker houndstooth coat she first debuted in 2018 during a trip to Sweden. Appearing equally patriotic, William sported a red scarf
Kate, 41, patron of Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), and Prince William, 40, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, appeared in great spirits as they arrived at the game
The famously competitive royal couple are in the stands to cheer on their respective teams in their Six Nations tie
Kate speaks to members of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust before the game
William and Kate unveil a plaque in front of members of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust
Kate took over the Rugby roles from her brother-in-law Prince Harry who used to enjoy cheering on England before he was forced to give up the patronage as part of the Megxit agreement
After a tumultuous period which must rank as one of Welsh rugby’s biggest ever crises, Owens and his team now have to somehow turn their attentions to the on-field action.
Warren Gatland’s side were hammered by Ireland and Scotland in the first two rounds of the Six Nations and then the strike threat completely overshadowed the build-up to England.
‘We’re probably disappointed it got to the stage it did but as players we needed to do it because there is so much uncertainty in the game,’ Owens said.
‘But it was put to bed on Wednesday and what is done is done. Now we need to focus on the rugby.’
The couple spoke to members of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust before the game
Prince William was all smiles and appeared at ease as he chatted with injured players before the game
Wales flanker Justin Tipuric sat out Friday’s captain’s run session to manage his training load but will still start against England.
‘We need a win to get the pride back in the shirt after two defeats,’ said Owens, who revealed he agreed with his head coach Gatland that past Welsh successes had papered over the cracks of the country’s previous rugby problems.
‘It’s trying to finish this saga on a positive. We have had a lot of crisis in Welsh rugby over the last 10 or 12 years at different points and it has almost been the national squad that has delivered to cover them.
‘If the national squad weren’t winning, this would probably have come to a head a lot sooner.’
The Prince of Wales meets injured players who are supported by the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust, before officially opening the Sir Tasker Watkins Suite
Princess Kate was beaming on Saturday afternoon
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