Princess of Wales thrills Wallaroos in surprise locker room visit
The Princess of Wales sent the Australian women's rugby team into a frenzy with a surprise post-match locker room visit, despite their 47-7 loss to England. Watch the video.
The Princess of Wales left the Wallaroos beaming after paying a surprise visit to their locker room.
England’s Red Roses battled the Aussie women’s national rugby team in a tense match on Saturday, but despite a 47-7 victory for the Brits, there was no love lost.
Catherine visited both teams at the Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium where she was met by cheers and grins from the delighted Wallaroos.
In a video shared on the team’s Instagram, the royal is seen shaking hands and showering the players with praise.
After the final group-stage match, Catherine was filmed checking in on the athletes.
The Wallaroos’ joyful clip was captioned: “Her Royal Highness Princess Catherine paid a visit to our sheds post match.”
She checked in on how the rugby stars were coping away from home before complimenting their efforts.
“You played really well, you gave us a run for our money at the beginning, it was nerve-racking,” the future Queen said to the Wallaroos.
“It’s so fantastic to see women’s sport played like this – with the crowds like this and stadiums like this, so really well done.”
The royal took on the role of Patron of the Rugby Football Union in 2022 and is known as an avid rugby fan.
After shaking their hands, the Princess wished the team “good luck.”
“I’m a massive supporter of women’s sport, so well done and good luck for the rest of the tournament,” she added.
After Catherine left the Wallaroo lockers, a palpable excitement broke out across the room.
The giddy Wallaroos were seen grinning and throwing their hands up before they erupted into an impromptu three cheers for the Princess.
The raucous welcome must have tickled the royal, who turned around smiling and blew a kiss.
Rugby fans were quick to note the Wallaroos’ elation throughout the video, with one Instagram user commenting: “They look so excited!”
“Kate has it right, the Wallaroos had us stressing in that first half,” a Brit added.
A third commented: “Wonderful to see Princess Catherine with the Aussies.”
In the clip, Catherine stunned in an elegant black and white get-up.
She paired a $3000 Alexander McQueen blazer with a $1150 Knatchbull’s Cascade Ruffle Silk Blouse.
The chic pieces were tied together with an $8000 Chanel Mini Classic Handbag.
KING’S ‘SABOTAGE’ WARNING
Meanwhile any potential meeting between Prince Harry and his father King Charles over the coming days could be “full of peril” and is at risk of “sabotage” from the California-based royal, it has been claimed.
The Duke of Sussex is due to attend the Wellness Awards in London on September 8 on the third anniversary of the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The four-day visit will be Harry’s longest trip back to his homeland since the late Queen’s passing and it widely believed that the royal will meet face-to-face with his estranged father, King Charles.
However, according to royal biographer Tom Bower, any meeting between the pair would be fraught with risk.
He warned: “There would be huge levels of emotion involved if they meet. Whatever Charles is facing, he would much prefer to have a good relationship with his son, so I’m sure he wants reconciliation.
“But he must bear in mind that he’s dealing with someone who could sabotage everything and embarrass him enormously.”
A close friend of Prince Harry’s told The Times: “He’s not given up hope on bringing his family back to the UK.
“He wants to be able to show his children where he grew up. He wants them to know their family here. He really would like to come back to the UK much more.”
Meanwhile, a PR expert said Prince Harry should approach a friend or family member to broker a meeting with King Charles and keep official channels out of negotiations.
Harry’s return to the UK has sparked questions over whether he will see his father as the pair have not been in the same room since February 2024 soon after King Charles’ cancer diagnosis where they met for just 30 minutes.
It comes as the monarch attended a church service near Balmoral where he is on his traditional summer break and where he has spent the anniversary of his mother’s death for the past two years.
“It’s vitally important for his feeling and his desire to have a real relationship with his dad. The challenge is there’s such a big trust gap that naturally is going to get amplified by all the players that surround both of them that it creates this emotional hurdle,” Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told Newsweek.
“The only way he’s really going to make that happen is for you and I and everyone else to never know about it.
“It has to be done in a back channel way that is off radar. If he does that and he’s sincere about it and he’s consistent and he’s emotionally mature I think there’s a way for him to rebuild a relationship but the onus is on him to build and show that he can maintain and respect the privacy of the king and his confidence.”
Mr Schiffer said even the involvement of royal aides could threaten the success of attempts to rebuild the royal relationship
As of last weekend, no meeting between Charles and Harry was planned but The Sun reported that could change in the coming days.
Friends of Harry say it is now up to the Royal Family to reach out to the exiled prince after he made it clear he wanted a reconciliation.
But those in royal circles see the situation differently and want Harry to stop making public pleas.
It is understood there is “no direct communication at all at the moment” between father and son at the moment.
There will, however, definitely be no meeting between Harry and Prince William.
Sources say Harry, who has not been offered a place at a royal palace, has not been asked to meet the King but would accept were the offer made.
He may get the opportunity if he decides to extend his stay for the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, who died on Thursday at the age of 92, although no date has yet been set.
She was friends with Princess Diana and acted as a mentor when she married into the Royal Family.
Royal expert Charles Rae predicted that any get-together between son and father was also unlikely.
“The big problem is that Harry is flying 5,500 miles to London and the King is still 500 miles away in Scotland. It is unlikely you would expect the King would fly down again to have a cup of tea with Harry,” he told The Sun.
He added that any attempt at a peace deal would be impossible without Prince William, and Meghan Markle.
“I can’t see how you could possibly have a reconciliation without the whole family being involved.”
Royal journalist Victoria Murphy said that, if Charles and Harry did not meet, “it would make me feel things are worse than I thought they were”.
In July, Harry’s team met the King’s communication chief in London in what was believed to be the first step towards improving their relationship.
It comes as friends Harry told The Times he is keen to return more often to the UK and to bring his family with him as prepares to return to Britain this week.
Prince Harry has only made rare – and brief – visits to Britain since moving to the US in 2020.
But now it seems he wants to change that with a four-day visit, his longest trip here since Queen Elizabeth’s death three years ago.
He will be travelling without his wife Meghan Markle or his young family.
The prince lost his battle with the Home Office over the level of security and believes it is not safe for the Duchess of Sussex or his children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, to travel to the UK.
In May, he told the BBC he missed his home country.
However, friends of the 40-year-old prince say he has not given up hope of bringing his family back to Britain.
After years of acrimony over his security detail, there is now said to be acknowledgment by Harry and his advisers that engaging in a public battle with the British government and courts was not the best idea, a case which is thought to have cost the prince more than A$2 million.
It’s expected Harry will now take a different, under-the-radar tact, with those close to the prince saying the government should expect more private “lobbying”.
“He’s not given up hope on bringing his family back to the UK,” a friend of Harry’s told The Times in London.
“He wants to be able to show his children where he grew up. He wants them to know their family here.
“He really would like to come back to the UK much more.”
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Originally published as Princess of Wales thrills Wallaroos in surprise locker room visit
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