Kate Middleton ‘looks forward’ to family night watching the rugby

The Princess of Wales interrupted her summer break to send a good luck message to England’s women’s rugby team ahead of their first World Cup match.

The Red Roses will play USA in their opening match at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

In a personal message posted on social media on Friday, Kate, 43, wrote: “Wishing the Red Roses the very best as they kick off their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign tonight. I look forward to cheering you on and seeing the team rise to the challenge on home soil! C.”

The Princess took over the Duke of Sussex’s former roles as patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Rugby Football League (RFL) in 2022.

Meanwhile, Prince William is patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, with the royal couple cheering on opposing sides during the Six Nations tournament in March.

As her patronage was announced three years ago, Kate showed off her sporting prowess during a England training session at Twickenham Stadium.

After being lifted in a line-out, former rugby star Mike Tindall, who is married to William’s cousin Zara, praised her skills saying the Princess “just looked effortless”.

Sporty family

Kate has previously spoken about her children’s enthusiasm for the sport, once describing her youngest son, Prince Louis, as “kamikaze”.

At the Six Nations match in March, William said of his kids: “At weekends we go from one competition to the next.“

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Kate added: “Louis is six and he’s just started touch rugby and George is 11 and he plays a bit more. They do really enjoy it.”

Prince George, now 12, has also accompanied his parents to a number of rugby matches, including international ones.

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The Princess’ love of rugby stems back to her childhood, with her sister, Pippa Matthews, once writing in Vanity Fair in 2014: “Rugby was a big thing in our family, and the focal point was international matches, which were often played on Saturday afternoons and were as much social as sporting occasions.

“We’d plan our weekends around the matches.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales are currently on a break from their royal duties amid their children’s school summer holiday. The Waleses are expected to join the King and Queen at Balmoral in the coming week.