Carrying out her first solo engagement of the year, The Princess of Wales held a reception this evening, for the England Women’s Rugby Team at Windsor Castle to celebrate the team’s World Cup win in September.
As Patron of the Rugby Football Union – a role previously held by Prince Harry – Catherine attended various games during the tournament, as did her husband in his capacity as Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Last September saw the English women win the Rugby World Cup, held in England, for the third time in their history. They beat Canada 33-13 at Twickenham, in front of a record crowd of 81,885.
Upon arrival at the Castle, the squad and coaches were given a guided tour. Concluding the tour, they were then joined by the Princess, dressed in red as a nod to the team, for a reception.
Players were welcomed to the Green Drawing Room by the Band of the Irish Guards, of which Catherine, is their Colonel, who played music including ‘9 to 5’ and ‘New York, New York’.
During the reception, Catherine spoke with her guests and was shown the ball used in the final, as well as the Wold Cup trophy.
The mother-of-three revealed her she plays rugby at home with her children, but noted how – due to George getting taller – she does not want to get tackled by her eldest…!
Chatting to members of the of the winning ladies’ team, Catherine noted that her two sons play rugby at school, with Louis taking part in extra-curricular ‘Rugbytots’ sessions for younger boys and girls, aged up to seven; Charlotte meanwhile only plays rugby at home with the rest of the family.
She said schools shouldn’t necessarily need to ‘pigeon hole’ boys and girls in particular sports too early adding that the team have ‘really inspired all the new generation [that] perhaps might not even have thought rugby was for them’.
‘I think it really showed how accessible rugby is to so many types of girls in different parts of the country.’
The Red Roses had a number of gifts for their Patron, including a jersey signed by the team. The reception ended with a group photo.
Both The Princess of Wales and the Red Roses will be hoping to see further success this year, once the Women’s Six Nations begin in March. No doubt Catherine will be in the stands for a game or two to cheer them on.
