The Princess of Wales quietly dropped in to watch England beat Argentina in the Rugby World Cup last night, but still took a moment to greet royal fans.
The mother-of-three, 41, was cheered on by a crowd of 60,000 as she watched the match at the Stade de Marseille, France, on Saturday.
Kate Middleton chose to make a fairly low-key entrance for her solo trip and was filmed arriving at the side door of the stadium, rather than the front.
However, she still took time to wave to royal fans who had caught wind of her decision and were waiting at the more incognito door for the princess to arrive.
Although she was alone during the visit, Kate was accompanied by the usual motorcade of black SUVs – and she wasn’t concerned about tinted windows during the short drive.
The royal wore her trusty £1,945 white Alexander McQueen blazer and matching trousers for the outing, which has become a staple of her public appearances.
She complemented her suit with a dazzling jewelry set that she first wore for Princess Charlotte’s christening in 2015 – including her £3,750 pair of Mappin & Webb ‘Empress’ diamond carriage earrings and a matching £2,000 Empress mini white gold and diamond pendant necklace.
Footage from the event showed the crowd erupting in rapturous applause and cheers for Kate as she appeared in the stadium.
The mother of three seemed surprised and delighted by the response.
Kate, a patron of the Rugby Football Union, watched the match without her husband William, patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
William will attend Wales’ opening match against Fiji in Bordeaux later today.
Comes next the Princess of Wales turned out to be a fan of swimming in cold water at night – and playing ‘beer pong’ with Mike Tindall.
The royal sporting revelations came to light with the release of a special Rugby World Cup edition of the former England international’s podcast: The Good, the Bad and the Rugby.
However, she still took time to wave to royal fans who had caught wind of her decision and were waiting at the more incognito door for the princess to arrive.
In the 50-minute episode, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Anne, the Princess Royal – patrons of Welsh, English and Scottish rugby respectively – talk to Tindall, the husband of Anne’s daughter Zara, and co-presenters James Haskell and Alex Payne in the green drawing room of Windsor Castle.
The recording, which was filmed on Wednesday, revealed some of the royal family’s sporting secrets.
As patron of the All-England Lawn Tennis Club, it’s no surprise that Kate enjoys playing the sport in her spare time – sometimes even recruiting her husband as her opponent.
The princess said she believes her competitive nature is thanks to her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton. She said: ‘If I asked both my parents, ‘Who is the most competitive?’ they would argue for a long time about who is the most competitive and who is the most athletic.’
William also discussed the important lesson he hopes his children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, will learn while playing team sports.
Speaking about the skills you pick up during ‘those early years of team sport’, he said: ‘Learning to lose is something I think we need to focus on more these days.
“I don’t think people know how to lose well. When we talk about our children in particular, I want to make sure they understand that.
“I think it’s really important to understand from a young age how to lose, and why we lose, and grow from that and what you learn from that process.
‘But also to win well, and not to brag. There are so many life lessons that help us throughout life, in building friendships, in building relationships, in the workplace, that you learn from those early years of team sports.”
