William and Kate visited the Copper Box Arena to take part in a unique event with Coach Core, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year.
Princess Kate opted to wear a striking navy boucle blazer embellished with gold detail buttons. She teamed her smart jacket with a pair of black flared trousers and a matching blue pendant. Kate finished off her look with teeny silver hoop earrings and a touch of pink lipstick.
The Royal Foundation launched the programme back in 2012 in response to the London riots, which took over the city that August. The programme moreover aims to bolster the impressive legacy of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Since its launch, the now independent charity has provided sports coaching apprenticeships to more than 750 disadvantaged young people, many of whom have now started meaningful careers or re-engaged with their education.
The Duke of Sussex worked alongside Kate and William to help establish the scheme. Delivering a speech in 2016, Prince Harry said: “By training the next generation of coaches to put the child first and the sport second, we hope the ripple effect of positive experiences in sport are felt by their participants in their communities”.
The charity aims to create the next generation of sports coaches who will themselves go on to inspire their communities. Over the years, Coach Core has received support from a number of famous ambassadors including England Lioness and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton, 6-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock, tennis legend Judy Murray and elite gymnastics coach Scott Hann.
During Thursday’s visit, William and Kate met a handful of young charity workers before getting stuck in with a variety of sports sessions.
Delivering a speech at the special event, the Prince of Wales said: “Catherine and I are, as always, delighted to be here with you today to celebrate the incredible achievements of Coach Core’s apprentices over the last decade.
“Sport has an incredible way of providing hope, connection and opportunity and when Coach Core was established ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, it was designed to use that power to help change young people’s lives.”
Addressing the apprentices, William added: “We all face barriers and challenges in life, and these can sometimes take incredible bravery to overcome. Not only have you faced these down, but you have also positively impacted the lives of others along the way and inspired many more.
“We are incredibly excited to see what the future holds for all of you.” Prince William urged people to build a “toolbox” of techniques and coping strategies to help them deal with unexpected obstacles.
“A lot of people don’t realize what they need until it actually comes along,” he said. “You can be living one life one minute and something massively changes, and you realize you don’t necessarily have the tools or experience to be able to tackle that.
“If we can’t look after ourselves, we’re not going to be able to tackle the issues we feel we have to on a day-to-day basis,” he continued.
