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Rugby patrons Prince William and Kate Middleton meet Wales and England teams after Six Nations clash

Feb. 26, 2023
Rugby patrons Prince William and Kate Middleton meet Wales and England teams after Six Nations clash

The Prince and Princess of Wales have offered a glimpse behind the scenes of their meetings with the Wales and England rugby teams yesterday.

Prince William, 40, and Kate, 41, dressed in a recycled red-and-white Catherine Walker houndstooth coat, watched the two groups battle it out in a Six Nations clash yesterday at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Following the game, the royal couple spoke with the two teams in their locker rooms, with photographs from the meetings being shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales' Twitter account this afternoon.

Images show William chatting to members of the Welsh team, while a beaming Kate is seen posing for a picture with an England rugby player and talking to the victorious players.  

The photos were shared with the caption: 'A sneak peek behind the scenes with the Wales and England teams yesterday,' which was penned in English and Welsh.  

For yesterday's outing, the Princess of Wales opted for a custom-made coat by royal favourite Catherine Walker, which she first debuted in 2018 during a trip to Sweden.

She paired the garment with a black, turtleneck dress and thick tights to stave off the February cold. Black, suede ankle boots completed the look.

The Princess of Wales also carried a small, cream handbag and a pair of black, leather-look gloves which she later wore as she took to the stands for the rugby.

Mother-of-three Kate cheered her team to victory while watching England's game alongside Wales supporter William.

Kate, patron of Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), and William, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, appeared in great spirits at the event.

But it was Kate who holds bragging rights after her team were victorious against their rivals, with England leading Wales 20-10 as the final siren rang out. 

The famously competitive royal couple were 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 during the game, the couple said: 'What a great half of rugby! Bring on the next 40 minutes.'

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 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.

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.'


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