Kate Middleton has revealed that her son Prince Louis loves playing rugby and ‘is mad’ about the rough and tumble sport that once ‘captured’ his Uncle Prince Harry's ‘heart.'
Prince Louis has captured the nation's hearts with his cheeky behaviour. Whether it's by pulling faces during royal engagements or with his mischievous behaviour that proves he shares the closest bond with mum Kate, Louis' antics, which have been described as 'typical third child' behaviour, are always sure to brighten up everyone's day.
But while the 5-year-old has a relatively normal life thanks to his parents' relaxed parenting approach that allows him to 'get away with murder,' there are still a few hardships the youngster has had to endure. Following the death of his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth, Louis has reportedly realised there's a difference between him and Prince George and the absence of his Uncle Harry has become all the more apparent.
Harry and Louis seemed to share a close bond before the former stepped down as a senior royal and moved his family across the Atlantic to LA. Prince Louis reportedly received an £8,000 Disney-themed gift from Prince Harry in honour of Diana for his christening back in 2018 and the Uncle has been vocal about his fears for the youngster as he grows up within the Royal Family. But while they may be apart, they do still share at least one connection - a mutual love for rugby.
Last year when she trained with the England Rugby team for a session ahead of their first Six Nations tournament match, Kate Middleton revealed that her youngest son, who sits fourth in the royal line of succession, loved playing the sport but she was 'worried' that his style is a bit too rough.
"They're all enjoying it," she said when asked if any of her kids enjoyed rugby. "Louis is kamikaze," she added, referring to his style of playing. “We're worrying about when he gets older, he'll be in the middle of everything."
More recently during a meeting with England's Wheelchair Rugby League squad, she revealed, "Louis is mad about rugby. They are at an age where they just love running around."
Prince Louis' love of the sport differs from his siblings' favourite hobbies, with Prince George loving tennis and Princess Charlotte enjoying gymnastics. But he shares his love of rugby with Prince Harry who shared in his memoir Spare that the rough sport 'captured his heart' when he was studying at Eton College.
He wrote, "I played [all] sport, though rugby captured my heart. Beautiful game, plus a good excuse to run into stuff very hard."
With Louis' clear love of the sport already forming, it's possible that he could follow in his Uncle's footsteps when he grows up and focus on the activity through his work as a member of The Firm.
Prince Harry has used his love for all sports and the benefits it brings as a focus in his work as a royal. The Royal Family's website reads, "Prince Harry believes that sport has the power to change lives for the better. He has championed access to sport for children and young people to give them confidence, and valuable life skills. He has also championed the value of sport in helping wounded servicemen become mentally and physically stronger as they recover from injury, through his work with Invictus."
Even since stepping down as a senior royal, Harry has continued to champion the benefits of an active lifestyle in helping people deal with their mental health. In his memoir, Harry revealed how he used exercise to help him come to terms with his mother's death and shared that he continues to reap the rewards of an active lifestyle.
He wrote, "During those years [after Diana's death] I took up boxing, because everyone was saying boxing is good for you and it’s a really good way of letting out aggression. And that really saved me because I was on the verge of punching someone; so being able to punch someone who had pads was certainly easier.”
