Whenever Prince George is seen out with Prince William it’s almost inevitable that a comparison will be drawn between them. Seeing the 12-year-old emulating his dad in his smart suits and ties is adorable and both seem interested in so many of the same things - from football to planes.
However, there’s one particular hobby that Prince George is taking after his mum with. It’s easy to have missed this intriguing detail even if you, like so many of us, eagerly sat down to watch episode 3 of The Reluctant Traveler season 3 on Apple TV+. Prince William chatted to Eugene Levy and gave him a tour of Windsor Castle.
But it was when he was talking about his family that I found myself most intrigued and at one point the Prince casually dropped into conversation that "George loves his football and hockey".
The young royal’s passion for football is well-documented, however I don’t recall hearing about him taking up hockey before now. His mum will no doubt be delighted, as when she was at Marlborough College the Princess of Wales was captain of the school’s field hockey team.
We’ve also seen her showcasing her skills over the years, including in 2012 when she took to the hockey pitch at St Andrew’s School wearing heeled knee high boots. This far from ideal choice of footwear didn’t stop her, though, and it’s clear from the look on Kate’s face whenever she picks up a hockey stick that she genuinely loves the sport.
The Princess of Wales kept up hockey when she was at St Andrew’s University and previously revealed on a special episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast that her parents were keen for their children to try different sports.
"I suppose as a family we were just very active. And I can always remember being physical, using our bodies, whether it's walking, climbing the lake district in Scotland [or] swimming from a young age," she said. "[My parents] always encouraged us to be physically active and sporty and they always encouraged us into doing team sports and trying things."
Lambrook School which all three Wales kids attend has an all-weather surface hockey pitch and at prep level all pupils take part in hockey, football, rugby, cricket, netball and athletics. According to them, cricket and football are also now compulsory for girls.
The future Queen remarked upon this in the podcast back in 2023, reflecting on how this means Charlotte has the opportunity to try out sports she didn’t at school.
"Charlotte's playing both [rugby and football] now, and it's really good to see youngsters, particularly girls, playing these types of sports now," Kate declared.
As well as hockey and football, Prince George is also very into rugby and has attended several matches with his parents. He hasn’t publicly declared his loyalty to one specific team, but every time England and Wales play each other he’s faced with a parent supporting either side, with William Patron of Welsh Rugby and Kate of England’s rugby governing bodies.
Although, given Prince George, who is second in the royal line of succession, is set to be Prince of Wales one day, I think that his future allegiance to Wales will be inevitable.
Watch The Reluctant Traveler season 3 on Apple TV+, with new episodes landing every Friday.
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