Kate Opens Up About Raising a Sporty Princess Charlotte — and the One Sport She Avoids
Princess Charlotte is only ten, but her sporting preferences are already taking shape. While the Princess of Wales has long been known for her love of fitness and competition, it turns out that one particular sport hasn’t quite made the cut for her sporty middle child. Kate Middleton recently offered a glimpse into what it’s like raising an energetic young royal. That insight came during Kate’s visit to Wakefield Trinity on Tuesday, where she met a group of schoolgirls taking part in rugby. Chatting with them, the Princess of Wales spoke about Charlotte’s active routine, but added, “She does loads of sport but not rugby.”
Interestingly, Charlotte’s apparent reluctance towards rugby seems to be a relatively recent development. Just a couple of years ago, the sport was very much part of family life at Adelaide Cottage. In a 2023 interview with Town & Country, Nigel Gillingham, the President of the RFU, shared an anecdote that suggested rugby was once a regular feature at home. “She [Kate] was telling me that she regularly plays rugby with her children in the back garden, and lots of other sports,” he said. He added that Charlotte had inherited her mother’s competitive streak, noting, “Apparently, Charlotte is very much in her mould, very competitive as well, apparently.”
Rugby aside, there is little doubt that Charlotte thrives on physical activity. Last year, the Prince of Wales revealed that his daughter had taken a particular interest in athletics. Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson spoke about a conversation with William following her investiture at Windsor Castle, recalling, “The Prince told me his daughter is doing the 400m at the moment and the hurdles and that she did watch me in Paris. He told me that he remembers me winning and that he wished he could be there to see it himself.”
Football is another area where Charlotte has made her feelings clear. During an outing with the England women’s team in 2022, William passed on a message straight from his daughter. “Charlotte wanted me to tell you that she's really good in goal. She said, ‘Please tell them that’,” he told the squad, adding, “Budding star for the future!”
Still, if there is one sport that truly stands out as her favourite, it appears to be gymnastics. That became clear during the Commonwealth Games in 2022, where Charlotte attended events alongside her parents. Tim Lawler, the chief executive of Sports Aid, later reflected on the interaction, noting how thoughtfully William and Middleton involved their daughter. “I did notice the [then] Duke and the Duchess… include Charlotte in the conversations,” he said, adding that it was 'really very evident' they were keen to reassure and engage her.
Lawler described Charlotte as both attentive and assured. “She was charming, very willing to put the medals on the medal board, and she asked the right question, which was, ‘Where exactly should I put this?’ It was by date, and she checked,” he recalled. While she enjoyed watching several events, one stood out. “She really, really loved seeing the swimming, but she's interested in the gymnastics,” he said, before adding that when asked directly, Charlotte was clear: “She answered very easily and said, ‘It’s gymnastics that I like.’”