The Prince and Princess of Wales have opened up about the reputation they have for being competitive with each other – with the pair apparently even being compared to competitive sitcom character Monica from Friends.
William, along with an animated Kate and Princess Anne, joined former England rugby player Mike Tindall, 44, who is married to Princess Royal’s daughter Zara, in his show The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.
Mike presents the rugby podcast alongside former rugby player James Haskell and TV presenter Alex Payne.
The description for this episode read: ‘The Rugby World Cup is underway so Tins managed to arrange a meeting for us with the patrons of the WRU, RFU and SRU at Windsor Castle.
‘Hask and Alex couldn’t believe their luck when they were invited to have tea with Tins’ mother-in-law and the Prince and Princess of Wales.’
During the discussion at Windsor Castle, the topic of competitiveness came up, with Kate and William being asked about the competition between them and one of the presenters revealing that Mike had compared them to Monica from the sitcom Friends, who is known for her insatiable desire to always be the best at everything.
He said: ‘I’m not going to lie… but Mike has discovered that you’re both super, super competitive, kind of like Monica from Friends, and when you play table tennis, it will go on for hours and hours. , and say: double or stop.’
To which Kate replied: ‘I’m really not that competitive, I don’t know where this comes from.’
She then joked that she and William have never managed to finish a game of tennis, and giggled as she explained that “it’s going to be a mental challenge between the two of us.”
Mike then asked whether the couple’s three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, are showing signs of competitiveness.
Princess Anne intervened and said: “Just a little bit, I would suggest.”
Kate revealed: ‘What’s interesting is that they all obviously have very different temperaments. And as they grow and try different sports – they’re obviously still very young – it’s going to be interesting to see how that grows and develops.”
Earlier in the podcast, William had talked about how important sports are for children, especially when it comes to learning about winning and losing.
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.”
He also spoke about enjoying his cousin Zara’s sporting success, revealing that the only time he has ever cried was when he watched the now 42-year-old win the European Championship in 2006.
William said: “I was camping in Exmoor at the time. We were all on the phone watching it. She was there, she bluffed, the flag went up. I was in pieces.’
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ appearance on the podcast was a build-up to their trip to France this weekend to watch the film Rugby World Cup.
Kate attended a group match between England and Argentina at the Stade de Marseille on Saturday in her role as patron of the Rugby Football Union.
