It looks like Prince Louis is following in the footsteps of his parents and becoming a sports fan.
The Princess of Wales, Catherine Middleton, has shared that her youngest son is “mad about rugby” while attending a reception for the England Wheelchair Rugby League squad in Hampton Court Palace.
Catherine has been Patron of the Rugby Football League since 2021 and she said she watched the squad’s November World Cup Final victory over France with her family on TV, telling the players they had “set the bar high”.
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As the Mirror writes, when she was asked whether her own children play the sport, the Princess replied: "We’re always slightly competitive with each other. They all love sport and Louis is mad about rugby.
“They are at an age where they just love running around”.
Both William and Catherine have shown a keen interest in sport throughout the years with William being the President of The Football Association, and his wife has been a long time Tennis fan.
But with three kids, she admitted she doesn't get to the gym, speaking to one of the players who asked how she keeps fit: “It’s running around after the children - I do it all, whenever I can squeeze in exercise I do, even jumping on the trampoline with my children before school.”
The Duke of Sussex previously served as patron of the Rugby Football League until February 2021 and Kensington Palace announced that the Princess would be taking over the following year.
Since then, she has been keen to highlight the increased interest for Wheelchair Rugby League and show her support for the sport.
At the palace, she met with members of the squad and coaching team to pass on her congratulations for their historic 28-24 victory over France. This marked England’s first World Cup triumph since the inaugural Wheelchair tournament that was held in Australia in 2008.
Setting a new record for the Wheelchair Rugby League, the final attracted a capacity crowd of 4,500, and was watched by a seven-figure broadcast audience.
Speaking to the players, the Princess said: “I bet you’ve been smiling since your win, you’ve all got used to smiling”.
She said that she was “so excited” to see the squad’s trajectory after their win and remarked that it was an “amazing” final and “really well deserved”.
She added that the final “really raised the profile” of wheelchair rugby, saying it “highlighted the power of the sport”.
The Princess told one of the players: “It’s this integrated network and community within the team, that’s what breeds the success…huge congratulations.
“You’ve set the bar really high now, I’m going to have to come and see a game firsthand”.
When one of the squad remarked that he wanted to see her visit and try playing with them in a wheelchair, she quipped: “There’s no excuse now…I’m going to have to do some upper body strength.”
She also commended their passion for the game, saying: “The dedication it takes to get to this level, well done you”.
She also emphasised how keen she was to come and watch a game live, saying: “I was watching the final on the telly but it must be totally different watching live,” adding that it might be “far more intense” in person.
Before departing the Princess told the squad: “I’m really proud and really grateful we got this opportunity and best of luck for the training and the season and I promise I’m going to come and see you for some games.”
Tom Coyd, the squad’s head coach, said: “Her Royal Highness is just so engaging. It’s probably the most privileged we have felt since winning the World Cup…That was the icing on the cake.
“She said she’d watched the final with her kids and she knew loads about the sport already and was talking about how exciting it was, how it’s really fierce in terms of collisions.
“She said it would be great for us to go and do an engagement session at the school where her children attend.”
The 27-year-old added: “She said Louis is doing tag rugby at school. She was saying that it is quite basic at the minute in that he is just getting to grips with the passing and the running around. But when you are four-and-a-half you just want to get the ball and run in any direction.
“She actually said that he recognised quite a lot of crossover with the rugby that he is doing, which is tag rugby with the tags on your hips, and our wheelchair game, where we have the tags on our shoulders.
“I just think she and her family connected really well with our game."
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