The Princess of Wales displayed her competitive side as she begged for another chance to try curling during a joint visit to Scotland with Prince William on Tuesday.
The royal couple visited the National Curling Academy in Stirling where they wished good luck to Team GB and Paralympics GB Curling teams ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games that start in Milano-Cortina next month.
William and Kate were given a five-minute demonstration on the ice by skips Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds, who showed them how to push off from the rubber hack, a foothold in the ice, and use the slippery sole they were given to propel themselves forward.
After watching her husband’s attempt, a nervous Kate stepped out tentatively onto the ice and hoisted her long skirt up as she got into position.
William was heard giving his wife tips, telling her: “Just lean on both Catherine,” in reference to the red stone and the delivery stick, used for beginners to help steady themselves.
After pushing off, Kate briefly lost her balance and quickly regained her composure but, in the commotion, she forgot to let go of the stone.
“Come on,” she was heard saying, having only managed to go a few metres in front of the starting point, before pushing the stone forward.
Keen to correct her mistake, Kate said: “Can we have another go?” and appeared delighted as she was told Nigel Holl, executive performance director from British curling, that she and William would go head-to-head. Watch above.
With the help of two sweepers each, the future king and queen were challenged to get closest to the button, the centre of the house.
On her second attempt, Kate successfully threw the stone and after it stopped right in the middle, she celebrated by punching the air and high-fiving Jennifer, who was part of the gold medal winning team at the last Winter Olympics, and celebrated with a fist pump in the air.
© Getty ImagesThe Princess is renowned for her love of sport, having excelled at hockey, tennis and swimming at school, and she and William are no stranger to getting competitive with one another during their royal engagements.
The subject was brought up on Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, in September 2023 with the Princess quipping: “I’m really not that competitive, I don’t know where this has come from.”
She then joked that she and William have never managed to finish a game of tennis, laughing as she added that “it becomes a mental challenge between the two of us”.
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