The Princess of Wales oozed sophistication as she attendedthe Women’s Rugby World Cup yesterday – but her stylish outfit came with a very profound meaning.
Kate, 43, beamed as she attended the women’s team’s match against Australia in her role as Patron of the Rugby Football Union,as she cheered on England’s Red Roses from the stands at the Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium.
The mother-of-three opted for black mourning colours to pay tribute to the Duchess of Kent, after Buckingham Palace announced her death last Friday aged 92.
Kate looked typically stunning in a chic£1,500 Alexander McQueen black blazer, which she paired with a £560 Knatchbull’s Cascade Ruffle Silk Blouse.
She completed the outfit with sleek black high-waisted trousers and her glam makeup enhanced her flawless complexion.
She accessorised her outfit with a £4,000 ChanelMini Classic Handbag and a £2,500 pair of Cartier 18K Pink Yellow White Gold Small Trinity Earrings.
Husband Prince William also wore a black suit and tie as he watched Wales narrowly lose to Fiji at Sandy Park in Exeter more than 200 miles away earlier this afternoon.
Over in Scotland, King Charles and Queen Camilla also paid their respects to the late Duchess as they attended the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park.
The Princess of Wales oozed sophistication as she attended the Women’s Rugby World Cupat the Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium yesterday
The King wore a black blazer and black tie, while Camilla wore a black armband.
Tributes have poured in over the last few days for the late Duchess, who was the oldest living member of the Royal Family.
In a loving tribute yesterday, William and Kate said the Duchess would be ‘much missed’ and described how she had ‘worked tirelessly’ in her life to help others.
In a statement signed ‘W & C’, the Prince and Princess of Wales said: ‘Our thoughts today are with The Duke of Kent and his family, particularly George, Helen and Nicholas.
‘The Duchess worked tirelessly to help others and supported many causes, including through her love of music. She will be a much missed member of the family.’
The Duchess died at Kensington Palace on Thursday night, surrounded by members of her family.
She is survived by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and their three children.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Prince Harry said he had sent his condolences privately to the Kent family.
Kate, 43, beamed as she attended the women’s team’s match against Australia in her role as Patron of the Rugby Football Union, as she cheered on England’s Red Roses from the stands
The mother-of- three looked typically stunning in a chic £1,500 Alexander McQueen black blazer, which she paired with a £560 Knatchbull’s Cascade Ruffle Silk Blouse
The Duchess of Kent, here pictured on a 1991 red carpet, died this week
The Duke and Duchess of Kent leaving Westminster Abbey after the wedding of the now Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011
At the match yesterday, Kate pinned back her sun kissed locks into a half ponytail, after debuting her new ‘bronde’ highlighted hair on Thursday.
After the match, Kate visited the England Women’s rugby team in their locker room to personally congratulate them on their 47-7 victory.
The game marks the final of the group stage of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, with England currently sitting at the top of the leaderboard, and Australia currently in second place.
England, who are ranked the number one side in the world, shocked the US with a 69-7 win in the first round before another strong performance to win 92-3 against Samoa last weekend.
They are one of the favourites to win the entire tournament, alongside current world cup holders New Zealand, and Canada.
Prince William and Kate have both shared personal messages to their respective teams on social media in recent weeks.
Posting in Welsh, then in English, William wrote: ‘Good luck to Wales Women as they kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign against Scotland today! Pob lwc, Cymru – ewch amdani! W.’
While Kate’s message read: ‘Wishing the Red Roses the very best as they kick off their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign tonight.
She completed the outfit with sleek black high-waisted trousers and her glam makeup enhanced her flawless complexion
She accessorised her outfit with a £4,000 Chanel Mini Classic Handbag and a £2,500 pair of Cartier 18K Pink Yellow White Gold Small Trinity Earrings
William, Prince of Wales, arrives at the stadium prior to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool B match between Canada and Scotland at Sandy Park on September 06, 2025 in Exeter, England
Queen Camilla and King Charles III during the Braemar Royal Highland Gathering at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on September 6, 2025 in Braemar, Scotland
‘I look forward to cheering you on and seeing the team rise to the challenge on home soil! C.’
Kate took over the role with the RFU from her brother-in-law Prince Harry in 2022, who was forced to give up the patronage as part of the Megxit agreement.
The Princess of Wales, who grew up watching rugby with her family, is known as one of the sportiest members of the Royal Family, and has gamely taken on her husband in everything from dragon boating to wind buggy racing at royal engagements.
She has played tennis and hockey from a young age and is already royal patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and is a frequent visitor to the Wimbledon Championships.
While her love and passion for hockey has been well publicised, less well known is her family’s love of rugby.
Her sister, Pippa, wrote in Vanity Fair magazine in 2014: ‘Rugby was a big thing for our family, we’d plan our weekends around the big matches.’
In the Royale’s Palace Confidential podcast, Jo Elvin joked that the Wales family ‘may need a referee in house’ for the game – which forms part of the Six Nations Championship.
It’s unclear whether the royal children – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – are also split on which team they support: Wales for William, or England for Kate.
In fact, on Mike Tindall’s podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, Prince William did joke that the question of which team the children support has become ‘quite the thing’ at home.
He said: ‘It’s become quite the thing in the house. [Catherine] is quite into it. I’m trying to stay out of it.’
The Princess looked stunning as she joined her husband Prince William on a visit to the Natural History Museum in London on Thursday as they returned to duties after their summer break, which reportedly included a yacht trip to Greece.
The Princess appears to have undergone a hair transformation in recent months, after first debuting her blonder locks in April
Kate, who studied art history at university and has been patron of the attraction since 2013, was seen with her newly blonde locks on display after spending a summer in the sun.
The Prince of Wales also showed a hint of tan during their day out in the capital following their traditional break, which was this year said to include a trip on their superyacht to Kefalonia, sailing around the Greek islands.
Kate, who has apparently dyed her brunette locks a few shades lighter, looked stylish in a fitted tweed ‘Hacket’ blazer from Ralph Lauren, paired with a white Boyfriend Shirt from sustainable British brand With Nothing Underneath, smart dark green tailored trousers and £199 tassel loafers from Pretty Ballerinas.
Alongside gentle waves in her hair, the princess opted for a natural sweep of make-up and added her £495 alphabet necklace from Daniella Draper – which features the initials of her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis – as well as Princess Diana’s sapphire engagement ring and £850 Kiki McDonough pear drop earrings.
The couple dodged downpours as they kicked off their own ‘autumn term’ and visited the site’s newly transformed gardens, meeting children and young people taking part in learning programmes.
As they arrived at the venue, the supportive Prince was seen placing a hand on his wife’s back, making for a sweet display of affection.
The princess appeared firmly in her element as she laughed with school pupils as it began to pour with rain during their time in the gardens – even sweetly helping one child to shelter under her umbrella.
Both the Prince and Princess of Wales have repeatedly championed environmental causes over the years
Kate has spoken at length about how getting back to nature has helped with her cancer recovery.
Arriving at the museum, Catherine, who previously visited in 2021, said to Dr Sandy Knapp: ‘Sorry it’s been such a long time for me to come back.’
The party posed for photos on the steps to the museum before greeting visitors queuing up to get inside – and Catherine even gave one over-eager youngster a high-five.
They were set to join children taking part in ‘pond dipping’ searching for newts and toads at the Nature Discovery Garden.
But seconds after the primary school children from Kender Primary School, New Cross, south London, arrived to join the royal visitors they were soaked in a massive and sudden downpour.
Catherine and William shared their umbrellas before calling off the outside activity and ushered the children into the dry at the nearby Nature Activity Centre.
The princess led several children while William helped control the rear as the youngsters splashed in puddles as they tried to keep out of the rain.
Beverley Brown, 44, assistant headteacher at Kender Primary School, said: ‘We had been waiting for the session to start and the children were very excited. As we started to move it started to pour and we didn’t know what to do.
‘Prince William gallantly held an umbrella over an adult and children. Princess Kate was in amongst us and said ‘let them go in’ and ‘let’s take them inside, it’s pouring’.’
All had to dry off inside the activity centre before the royals took part in a workshop helping the children identify animals encased in blocks and find their regular habitat.
Asked by a teacher for their findings, Catherine said the children in her group ‘decided spiders are everywhere.’
William rested his arm on one teacher’s damp shoulders and said: ‘Are you wet? We got you inside in time.’
Speaking afterwards, Ms Brown added: ‘It was an amazing experience for children talking to them non stop about mini beasts. Prince William was laughing as some of the children were using them like jenga blocks.
‘Lots of our families live in quite crowded housing and don’t have access to gardens so to experience all of this at the Natural History Museum is very important for the children.
‘We have received a National Education Nature Park Department of Environment grant for £10,000 for our own pond.’
