The Prince and Princess of Wales were among the crowds at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, as the tournament entered its final weekend.
Using their Scottish titles, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay attended events on the second-to-last day of a competition that has drawn thousands of visitors to the city and featured world-class sporting talent.
The Wales children joined their parents to watch Australia take on Jamaica in netball. This marked the first time the children had been seen publicly in Scotland.
During their visit, William and Catherine spent time with members of Team Wales along with the athletes’ families.
Saturday’s programme offered spectators a varied schedule of events spanning athletics, boxing, netball and judo.
Ahead of the games, William had visited the London Welsh School in Hanwell, west London, where he spoke with five Team Wales competitors.
Among them were Ross Owen, who competes in lawn and indoor bowls, blind para bowler Julie Thomas and her guide John Wilson, as well as weightlifters Madaline Connelly and Catrin Haf Jones.
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Prince Edward, who serves as vice patron of Commonwealth Sport, the organisation responsible for delivering the games, was also present at the Games today alongside his wife, Sophie. The competition has been widely referred to as the “friendly games.”
The opening ceremony at Glasgow’s Hydro arena saw the King and Queen make a dramatic entrance from a Tardis, echoing the memorable moment at London 2012 when the late Queen Elizabeth II appeared to parachute into the Olympic Stadium with Daniel Craig’s James Bond.
It was the first Commonwealth Games opening ceremony to take place indoors, a consequence of the sweeping financial overhaul that followed Victoria’s decision to pull out as host in 2023 due to escalating costs.
The games, which trace their roots back to the 1930 British Empire Games, had faced an uncertain future before Glasgow agreed to reprise its 2014 hosting role with significant modifications.
The Princess of Wales has been a patron of SportsAid since 2013, and the couple also met competitors at the games whose sporting careers have been supported by the charity.
Former beneficiaries of SportsAid include Sir Chris Hoy, Ellie Simmonds, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tom Daley.
William and Catherine additionally engaged with up-and-coming talent involved in the Team England Futures project.
The initiative has provided promising young athletes and aspiring support staff with the chance to experience the Glasgow Games from behind the scenes, preparing them for potential future appearances as debutants for Team England, Team GB or ParalympicsGB.
English