The Duchess of Cambridge ‘to tackle new rugby roles’

The Duchess of Cambridge is reportedly taking on new roles as royal patron of both the Rugby Football Union and Rugby Football League.

According to an article in the Sunday

Times, Kate, 38, will take over from the Duke of Sussex, who had to give up both positions when he and his wife the Duchess stopped being working royals. Kensington Palace has not yet confirmed the appointments.

Patronage of England’s two rugby bodies would fit in nicely with several of Kate’s other roles: she is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and the Lawn Tennis Association, as well as SportsAid and the 1851 Trust, which encourages youth sports.

The Duchess has long been a devotee of rugby union, having grown up supporting England, and has made appearances at Rugby World Cup and Six Nations matches – she was gripped by the France versus Wales game during an official visit to Paris in 2017. Meanwhile, her husband the Duke is patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton has also written of her family’s love of the game, saying: “The focal point was international matches… We’d plan our weekends around the matches.”

The Queen, who was patron of both organisations herself until 2016, is expected to announce the Duchess’s new role before the Rugby League World Cup, which has been put back to 2022 from this autumn.

It is thought one of the Duchess’s early moves will be to champion the Allianz Inner Warrior campaign to encourage more female players.

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