Princess Kate Braves The Rain To Cheer On England In Rugby League World Cup Match
This Saturday is a pretty big deal for Princess Kate, as she is attending the men’s Rugby League World Cup in Wigan, where she’ll watch England’s rugby team play against Papua New Guinea.
Princess Kate is stepping in for her brother-in-law, Prince Harry, marking the first match she attends since becoming the new patron of the English Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union.
Harry was stripped of his royal patronages last year after announcing he would no longer be a working member of the Royal Family. Kate was handed the role by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Before the match, Kate joined the teams on the pitch to observe a minute of non-silence – a way of marking the tournament’s Movember Mental Fitness Match Day, fighting against the impact of silence on men’s mental health.
Dressed in a full red coat believed to be from Alexander McQueen and holding a large black umbrella she met the team and the mascots.
Kate teamed the look with suede-heeled boots and a crimson poppy pin, in honor of military troops who lost their lives in combat. Each November, the red poppy pins become a piece of the royals’ wardrobe for the U.K. and Commonwealth countries’ Remembrance Day on November 11.
England is hosting the Rugby League World Cup this autumn after it was postponed in 2021.
The Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) marks a breakthrough moment in the history of the tournament, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cup competitions being staged alongside one another for the first time.
The Princess of Wales meets the Rugby teams before kick off today as patron of the RFL!🏉 pic.twitter.com/p8b3CkLqAO
— Belle (@RoyallyBelle_) November 5, 2022
RFL chair Simon Johnson said: ‘We will be delighted and honoured to welcome the Princess of Wales for the first time as the RFL’s royal patron.
‘With both our England women and men’s teams playing important World Cup matches on Saturday, her presence will enhance a special occasion for our sport, for the World Cup and for the famous rugby league town of Wigan.’