The Princess Royal and the Princess of Wales will face off in some light-hearted family competition this weekend as England takes on Scotland in the Six Nations match on Saturday, 22 February.
Princess Anne, 74, has served as the patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986, while Kate, 43, became the patron of England’s Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League in 2022, taking over the role from Prince Harry.
Anne rarely misses a match and is expected to be in the stands at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kate is currently on a family vacation with Prince William and their three children in Mustique for the February half-term break, though she’ll likely keep a close eye on the game from the Caribbean.
Rugby runs deep in the Middleton family, with Kate’s sister, Pippa Matthews, sharing their enthusiasm in a 2014 Vanity Fair article.
“Rugby was a big thing for our family, and the focal point was international matches,” Pippa wrote. “We’d plan our weekends around the big matches… If we lost, my dad would be in a state of despair for the rest of the afternoon, as if he’d actually lost the game himself.”
William and Kate’s children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—are also learning the sport. Kate once described Louis as a “kamikaze” player due to his fearless playing style.
The royal couple discussed their children’s budding competitiveness during an appearance on Mike Tindall’s The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast in 2023, alongside Princess Anne.
When asked if the kids show signs of rivalry, Anne quipped, “Just a little bit, I would suggest,” while Kate added, “They all have very different temperaments… It’ll be interesting to see how that grows and develops.”
