When they’re not out and about undertaking royal duties the Prince and Princess of Wales tend to stay out of the spotlight and enjoy time with their children at Adelaide Cottage or their Norfolk property, Anmer Hall. When they’re at home they’re completely private, but we still have a fair idea of how they spend their time.
Over the years, Prince William and Kate have painted a picture of their family’s love for getting some good old fresh air and throwing themselves into as many sports as possible. There’s one activity that the couple are big fans of, but the same "challenge" arises every time.
Speaking on a special episode of Mike Tindall’s The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast filmed at Windsor Castle in 2023, the Princess said that tennis matches inevitably aren’t finished when she and Prince William face each other on the court.
"I don't think we've actually managed to finish a game of tennis, the two of us," Kate declared, before saying it "becomes a mental challenge between" her and her husband.
Prince William agreed, adding that when the couple play tennis together it soon turns into a case of "who can out-mental each other" to secure victory. By the sounds of it, though, no-one does as despite being skilled tennis players, the "mental challenge" appears to get in the way.
This wouldn’t necessarily be the case if it weren’t for the Prince and Princess’s highly competitive natures. During the podcast Mike remarked upon this, saying to Kate, "I'm not going to say you're uber competitive, but…", to which she responded, "I’m not competitive at all."
However, in the past Prince William has spoken of his wife’s competitiveness when the England Rugby team (her patronage) play the Wales team (his patronage) in the Six Nations Championship. They’ve also eagerly raced each other in a spin class before during a visit to Wales in 2023 and the Prince was soundly beaten by Kate, who received a trophy.
Although the Prince and Princess’s tennis matches are affected by their "mental challenge" with each other, William appears to be a little less competitive than her in general, or at least with certain things. This might not be surprising given that Kate grew up in a family that loves playing competitive games.
As reported by Express.co.uk, James Middleton was asked by Emily Dean on The Dog podcast about Prince William’s desire to excuse himself from Middleton games nights. According to him, the royal often wanted to cuddle James’s late dog Ella whilst they carried on playing cards.
"Ella gives [William] a good excuse to escape the fiercely competitive nature of the Middleton family, which emerges every time we play our favourite fast-paced card game, racing demon," James alleged. "William flinches at our ruthless determination to win at all costs. He's delighted to be the first out, and when no longer compelled to take part, he slinks off to cuddle Ella."
"I think he'd prefer to absent himself from the game entirely. My sisters and I exchange a knowing glance: William, for all the competitive rigour of his military training, is happy to be a loser at cards," he added.
