IT’S PLAIN SAILING FOR THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE AT COWES
THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE ENJOY A RIGHT ROYAL REGATTA
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went head to head last week as they set sail from Cowes on the Isle of Wight. And first in line to cheer them on as they competed in the King’s Cup yachting regatta were their eldest two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
While their parents battled it out on the water, the youngsters joined their grandparents Michael and Carole Middleton to watch from another boat. George, six, played skipper for the day, donning his
very own captain’s hat and showing off a gap-toothed grin. Meanwhile, Charlotte, four, looked the part in an adorable nautical-themed Ralph Lauren frock, and later pleased the crowds back on dry land as she cheekily poked her tongue out at them!
Arriving at the event, Kate paired her LK Bennett trousers and frilled knitted Sandro top with Superga trainers, before switching into her sailing gear. And as she took to the water, the duchess was also showing off her tan following the family’s recent holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique.
The race saw Kate and William, who are also parents to one-year-old Prince Louis, compete against celebrity ambassadors representing the eight charities they chose to
benefit from this year’s event. And despite putting on an impressive show for the crowds, both were pipped to the post by Bear Grylls and his crew, who were racing on behalf of William’s cause, conservation charity Tusk.
While William and his team, who were racing for Child Bereavement UK, finished third, luck wasn’t on the duchess’s side and she and her crew were disqualified in the second race, finishing last overall. But her loss did nothing to dampen the 37 year old’s spirits, and she was all smiles as she was later reunited with her children in the stands.
Also racing to support the duke’s chosen charities were England footballer Fara Williams, representing Centrepoint, and historian Dan Snow, supporting London’s Air Ambulance Charity. Kate was racing for The Royal Foundation’s Early Years programme, and supporting her patronages were comedian John Bishop for Action On Addiction, CBBC’S Katie Thistleton for Place2be and Olympic rower Helen Glover, who raced for the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families.
The historic King’s Cup was first presented by King George V in 1920 and this year’s race was held a day earlier than originally planned, due to the predicted bad weather on Friday.
In other royal news, back on the mainland, Zara Tindall enjoyed a family day out at last week’s Festival of British Eventing.
The Olympic silver medallist was joined by daughters Mia, five, and one-year-old Lena, for a stroll around the grounds of her mother Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park, where the competition was being held. And after taking her first public steps the previous day, Lena enjoyed a wellearned rest as her 38-year-old mum carried her around the show ground. In one of the few glimpses royal fans have had of the youngster since her birth last June, she showed a striking resemblance to her father Mike Tindall. But while her mum was all smiles, Lena was clearly not amused by the day’s festivities, showing her distaste with a little frown. Meanwhile, Mia enjoyed the festival with her cousins, Savannah and Isla Phillips, under the watchful eye of their grandmother.