The Prince and Princess of Wales, patrons of Welsh and England Rugby, with Kate presently en route to France for a week of sporting action at the Rugby World Cup. Fans of the sport (I have not the first clue :)), including my other half, tell me Mike Tindall, James Haskell and Alex Payne's podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby is a must listen. William and Kate are clearly very much in agreement, and joined The Princess Royal, patron of Scotland Rugby and of course Mike's mother-in-law, in Windsor Castle's Green Drawing Room for a podcast episode filled with fun moments and memories.
The conversation opened with Princess Anne recalling how she stumbled into the role of patron of Scottish Rugby almost 40 years ago. Another person had let them down last minute and Anne happily stepped in before receiving the invitation to take on the formal role. I'm a huge fan of Anne and her tireless commitment. You can very much feel the enthusiasm all these years later and all were in agreement she was the most knowledgeable person on the sport in the room.
Speaking about the sport, the Princess said: "They did ask me what my favourite childhood memory was about playing sport. It's coming back in from playing hockey or netball in the freezing rain, thinking we are all totally mad, but it's been really great fun and that's the back of it." Kate described "the sense of achievement" one feels from "being tough". Anne agreed, saying, "It's applying yourself."
Mike Tindall turned the conversation to Kate's competitive side (having seen her play ping-pong), noting Kate's dad, Michael Middleton, is a "massive cricket fan". The Princess replied, "If I asked both my parents who is the most competitive, I think they would sit down for quite a long time arguing who is the most competitive and who is the most sporty. As a family, I suppose we're just very active and I can always remember being very physical, using our bodies, hiking in the Lake District or swimming in Scotland. They always encouraged us into doing team sports and trying things." Comparing William and Kate to "Monica and Chandler" from Friends, Kate joked she and William haven't managed to finish a game of tennis yet :)
When Mike asked if the Wales children are showing signs of their parents' competitive streak, Anne said, "Just a little bit I would say." Kate added, "They are all obviously very different temperaments and as they are growing and trying out different sports...They are obviously really young. It's going to be interesting to see how that grows and develops." Anne revealed Peter was "a dreadful loser" before speaking about Zara's sporting achievements.
'James Haskell, Mike's podcast co-host, asked the Prince and Princess of Wales whether they would ever take part in a parents' sports day event, to which Kate confirmed that they already had. Despite being told a race "categorically" wasn't happening, Kate revealed their one particular school called a last-minute parents race, prompting concern due to "underpreparedness" although the Prince revealed he did finish second.
Speaking about the moment, he shared: "I started off just running and joining in, and then looked around and I was so far out in front. There was this Italian dad up in front and I thought: 'I'm going to catch him'. A friend of mine who tried catching up with me pulled a hamstring." Kate also said she was barefoot, but couldn't remember in which place she had finished.'
Kate revealed a major sporting regret was missing Andy Murray's Wimbledon triumph when she was expecting Prince George. Meanwhile, William joked he didn't vote for Mike on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here, and instead remained neutral.
'Prince William told The Good The Bad and The Rugby: “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."
Princess Kate added: “I can remember because you came back and said I’ve never been so proud of anyone.” When recounting the beginnings of her daughter’s horse-riding career Princess Anne recalled trying to offer her advice, saying, “If I made a comment I was usually told I was a dinosaur.”
Reminiscing on the days of the 2012 London Olympics and the “coming together of a nation", Prince William described Chris Hoy winning gold as one of his most memorable, “spine-tingling” moments of the event. He said: “It was phenomenal and I think Chris Hoy at the velodrome was one of my all-time favourite moments - we were both there shouting and yelling - it was this cauldron of noise and it was just so exciting.”'
The Princess repeated her grey tailored Prince of Wales plaid Catherine Walker blazer. Below, Kate wearing the piece in 2017.
Kate sported her Hugo Boss anthracite embossed leather pumps.
I'll see you in just a few hours, as England face off against Argentina at 8 pm. In the meantime, enjoy the podcast (even a Rugby philistine like myself found it very insightful and most of all a great deal of fun :)).
This was unexpected. I'm looking forward to watching it before the rugby. Charlotte why would it off being embargoed till a certain time? S.🙂.
ReplyDeleteHello S!
DeleteMy guess is to coincide with the matches over the weekend :)
Thanks Charlotte. I was thinking for another reason. S.🙂.
DeleteCatherine’s patronage (England) plays tonight and William (Wales) and Anne (Scotland) play tomorrow. It’s the rugby World Cup which I think happens every two years?
DeleteI loved this podcast! What fun and it was about rugby, but much more! Love how they all enjoy sports and being active. This was a brilliant idea since they are all patrons and Mike was a talented rugby player. I love her outfit- so polished! Thanks! Sue from IL
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! Absolutely Brilliant! I loved every minute of the Podcast & loved seeing W&C in such a long natural & candid environment & Anne!!! What a Spitfire! I loved getting more of a sense of her too! Just Wonderful! Thank you Charlotte! Such a highlight! :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteAlso, such great insight into what makes Kate tick & be so steady & great!! I found myself seeing so much of Diana in many of William's expressions! I realized that I've really never seen either of them in such a relaxed atmosphere as this & for such a duration of time!..... One really gets the sense of why they are not only such a good match for each other, but also for their Royal roles... they just have the right recipe! :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat, rugby, which I love, and three of my favourite Royals !
ReplyDeleteAmazing post- I’m so glad Kate brought back what is possibly my favourite blazer of all time! Just wondering what you know about Kate’s jewellery.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much- Ellie.
Thanks Charlotte, that's the first podcast I've watched and I really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of The Princess Royal. I've never found her stern or standoffish. Besides her sense of duty and loyalty to the Crown. I find her very funny. I think she has her Father's sence of humour. As a big fan of F1, I had to laugh at her doing 3 laps in one of the cars. S.🙂.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the whole podcast.Utterly delightful.The strong bond and real fondness shine through.
ReplyDeleteI think the grandchildren are doing things I didn't see them do while the Queen was alive -- I don't know why because I'm sure she would love it. This is a great outfit for Kate -- something I would love to wear.
ReplyDeleteI have a soft spot for Princess Anne as she's the only royal I've ever seen in real life (she opened a new building where I worked) and she's also the (very committed) royal patron for my favourite charity which made (and continues to make) an enormous difference to my everyday quality of life). Googling Princess Anne ahead of her visit to my workplace was what started my interest in royals and it's why I think the 'we need to be seen to be believed' maxim is right. Love how Kate styled that jacket when she wore it before. It's harder to get the full impression from the podcast because she's sat down.
ReplyDeleteThank you Charlotte. Great to have you back after the break. Mike Tindall's rugby programme is great. He has done so well integrating a career with being part of the Royal family. If anyone is interested he has one of the best tributes to Queen Elizabeth on his instagram that I have seen in the last few days. His instagram is fun to follow.
ReplyDeleteGood dynamics in the family podcast and also fun to listen to.
So much for people saying they're cold, the family do not get along and blablabla. They obviously have a fantastic relationship and spend lots of time together. This podcast is absolutely delightful.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t finished the whole podcast but what fun it is to see them in such a relaxed atmosphere and I love mixing royals. I’ve always felt Princess Anne came off as cold and closed off. I also found it odd when Anne and Kate did a visit together. I now realize that is not accurate - from what I’ve seen with this podcast; she has a fantastic relationship with her son-in-law and her nephew and niece-in-law. They felt a lot closer than I ever gave them credit for and I imagine she is a fantastic and involved mother, grandma and aunt. I hope we get more it Anne with the Wales’s - it seems like wonderful relationship.
ReplyDeleteI love how relaxed they all are and that family stories are shared. Prince William crying when Zara won the World Championship was just such a sweet reaction.
I also love Kate taking about being told no parent races and then the school surprised them at the end so she ran without shoes. I’m sure their children LOVED seeing them participate and especially without shoes!
This has been so fun to listen to so far and I hope we continue to get these little inside glimpses every now and then.
Completely agree! It was wonderful to see Anne talk, show her sense of humor and interact with her son in law as well as Will and Kate. Excellent, natural and beautifully done piece of journalism!
DeleteBrilliant! Absolutely Brilliant! I loved every minute of the Podcast & loved seeing W&C in such a long arre natural speakers and mike ad Anne too love their insight as well
ReplyDeleteLoved this! What a fun treat to listen to. Ali
ReplyDeleteI know less than nothing about rugby and couldn't understand half of what was said for lack of knowledge about places and the game, but I watched the entire podcast! It was so unusual to see the Princess Royal, the Prince and Princess of Wales all talking so casually and comfortably for almost an hour! I feel like I know them better than ever. And even though Anne showed her no-nonsense personality she was great fun! What a special treat! Kate looked great and I liked the window pane pattern on William's suit jacket, but I really could care less about the fashion. Just hearing them talk was such a treat!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delight this podcast has been! I liked the atmosphere, the bantering all show strong bonds of affection and appreciation!Williams wink to Catherine just the same like years ago!Efi from Greece.
ReplyDeleteWhat everyone else said really - I just finished watching the podcast and would recommend it to anyone, not just sports fans. To see and hear them interacting so naturally together and talking about such things as racing each other round the quadrangle at Balmoral does show that they are a real family and are close to each other.
ReplyDeleteIt lasts for 50 minutes, so is the longest I've ever seen them chatting and showing their real characters in such a relaxed setting. I've always loved Princess Anne too!
I thought it was just brilliant. Not only was it a fun and interesting conversation but they made you feel like you got to know the real people behind the public faces. But when I thought about it more I was even more impressed, because they managed to do so without invading their own, their children or anybody’s elses privacy. They shared some tidbits, (we now know Kate likes cold water swimming and ran a parent race barefoot and William played flank in high school), but no juicy stories and nothing their kids will one day be embarrassed about.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteReally, really nice interview, interaction and conversation. The Royal Family should do more of this and they might just find it to be the best way to show that they are just people. Loved watching and listening. Thank you for including this in the Blog.
ReplyDeleteI thought the tidbit about K enjoying cold water swimming was interesting. The ocean is literally freezing in my home country and I’ve never liked it. Give me Hawaii any day :)
ReplyDeleteI'll listen to the podcast when I find time but from what other commenters have said sounds like a good one. I like what Kate's wearing here and wish she wore these shoes with her white pantsuit in France! Sue in WA
ReplyDeleteThis was pretty cool. Princess Anne is awesome and how fun they are patrons of each league. I hope this becomes a tradition of sorts. Every two years or so? Charlotte, I hope you do a screen capture and identify all the artworks in the background for your other blog!
ReplyDeleteI can’t wait to watch this when I can catch a breath. They all look so at ease and the photo fo them laughing is priceless
ReplyDeleteWell this is interesting, this really gives an insight, and then especially in the way Catherine takes the lead. I only watched the first 15 minutes but saw
ReplyDelete- Catherine interrupting Anne when she felt it was time for her to talk (Anne and William had been talking for ages already, but the interviewers ignored the third person present, which i thought was becoming rude, especially when Anne took a second turn, it was obvious Catherine wanted to join in and took the lead.
- Catherine intterupting Anne again when Anne started to answer Mike's question about the Waleses childrens competitiveness. Anne was about to answer in serious and then Catherine interrupted and made a very general comment about 'different temperaments' and 'they are very young', clearly steering away from more details about her children. Very well done, I didn't like the way Anne talked about her son Peter.
Will be watching the rest! The dynamics are very interesting, in a broad sense i felt incomfortable watching very priviliged people talk about their very priviliged lifes without a hint of them being aware of it.
Last remark, of course , W & C are sporty, but i sometimes feel this is emphasized a bit too much by others. Obviously, they are very fit, do active things, but it really comes with the elite outdoor lifestyle they adore and which allows plenty of time and opportunity to do sports.
I agree with your last comment Soulsister about sports- many are seen as elite sports - polo , rugby and tennis, sailing . They have lots of money , time and staff to allow them to indulge in their sports . I honestly feel their patronages are also in the main part quite elite ones and I’d like to see them with more down to earth patronages . Animal related , domestic violence, RNLI to name a few . GT
ReplyDeleteRugby and tennis are not elite sports. Nor are their patronages in the main elitist. May I suggest you look up their patronages before making such a sweeping and incorrect statement.
DeleteWe will have to agree to differ Rugby Union and Tennis are very much seen as elitist sports . Rugby union is mainly played at private schools as is Tennis . Few state schools provide tennis lessons. Tennis is considered as a high cost sport due to costs of equipment, courts and private lessons .
DeleteI also believe the large number of her patronages that relate to museums and art galleries is disproportionate.
There are no animal charities in her patronages
This was a fabulous podcast, interesting and hilarious!
ReplyDelete