The Princess of Wales has issued a personal message to the England rugby team, wishing them good luck ahead of the Rugby League Ashes series kicking off on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Keen sports fan Catherine shared her well-wishes on her X account ahead of the game, throwing her support behind the team. Her message was accompanied by a repost of the England Rugby League teasing this afternoon’s game.
Princess Catherine penned: “Wishing England the very best of luck in their first Rugby League Ashes campaign in 22 years. An exciting new chapter for the game begins at Wembley Stadium today. We are all behind you! C.” As royal patron of both the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL), roles she has held since 2022, the Princess of Wales, 43, never misses an occasion to attend a game or showcase her passion for the sport.
What Princess Catherine’s support means
Sara Orchard, BBC Sport commentator and reporter, spoke exclusively to HELLO! ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, praising Princess Catherine’s involvement in and advocacy for the sport. “The Princess of Wales being engaged and a patron of England women’s rugby is absolutely brilliant because it brings more eyes towards the game. I’m also quite excited by the fact that her husband, the Prince of Wales, is the patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, so that could be a nice rivalry for us to watch out for,” she said.
Philippa Tuttiett, former Welsh Women’s Rugby Captain, also told us that Catherine has been quite hands-on behind the scenes, getting “fully involved” in training sessions. “I love the way that we’ve seen them coming down to training sessions and getting fully involved,” she said. “Catherine did a lineout lift with the England team. I thought that was brilliant because half of the stigma sometimes with women’s rugby is you have to look a certain way or act a certain way to play.”
A shared family passion
William is Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, so rugby – and friendly competition – is a big part of their family life. We can expect that the Prince and Princess of Wales will be tuning in to catch the match later from home alongside their children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven.
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The Wales children often join their parents at major matches, whether it’s rugby or football. In August, Charlotte cheered from the sidelines as England’s Lionesses beat Spain in the final of the UEFA Women’s Euro tournament, while George travelled to France with William to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in 2023.
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“The Wales family are sport-mad and William and Catherine have clearly passed on their passion to their kids, so we’ve seen George and Charlotte popping up at major sporting events in a way we’ve not seen in previous generations of the royal family,” royal expert Robert Hardman previously told HELLO!. “It shows support for the sportsmen and women, but also a genuine interest in events that so many other people care about. It’s a great way for them to connect.”
George, in particular, is said to be a keen rugby player himself. During a rugby match between England and Wales in Cardiff in March 2025, the Prince and Princess of Wales opened up about their children’s sporting prowess. “At weekends we go from one competition to the next,” William said, while Catherine 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. They’ve been exposed to lots of different sports.”
