Prince William cried when watching Zara Tindall win an eventing competition.
The Prince of Wales is an avid sports fan but admitted the only time his passion has ever made him shed a tear was seeing how emotional his cousin got when she won her medal, even though he was only able to watch “huddled around [a] phone”.
Speaking to Zara’s husband Mike Tindall and his co-hosts Alex Payne and James Haskell on their podcast ‘The Good, The Bad and The Rugby’, William said: “The only time I’ve ever cried when watching sport was when Zara won, I think it was the European championship.
“I was down in Exmore at the time camping. We were all huddling around the phone watching it. She was there she was blubbing away the flag was going up. I was in pieces.”
His wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, added: “I can remember because you came back and said I’ve never been so proud of anyone.”
William is a big fan of Premier League side Aston Villa and admitted he is “addicted” to watching football now, even though he wasn’t that into the sport when he was younger.
He said: “The first FA Cup game I went to a long time ago, I had family friends who were big Villa fans so they took me to matches when I was younger and got me involved.
“At the time when I was going, I thought it was great, I love it, I never really got into football that much.
“As I’ve got older, I’m now addicted to it. I think the rise of the smartphone particularly and when Villa actually got relegated from the Premiership kicked off a deep routed passion.
“I think I was missing the team sports in my life playing it and I think it helps replace it a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Catherine – who has Princes George, 10, and Louis, five, and Princess Charlotte, eight, with William – admitted she and her husband rarely finish a game of tennis because it has become a “mental challenge” between them.
Mike laughed: “I’m not going to say you’re really competitive… [but] I’ve seen her play beer pong…”
Catherine insisted: “I’m not competitive at all.”
But she then admitted: “II don’t think we’ve actually been able to finish a game of tennis. It becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.”
William agreed: “It is who can out mental each other.”
