Prince William and Princess Kate to attend Rugby World Cup matches after backlash over Lionesses snub
Prince William and Princess Kate will travel to France to watch the Rugby World Cup this weekend.
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Prince William and Princess Kate will travel to France to watch the Rugby World Cup this weekend.
However, the Prince and Princess of Wales look set to attend separate matches at the tournament.
Princess Kate will watch the group-stage match between England and Argentina at the Stade de Marseille in her role as patron of the Rugby Football Union on Saturday.
Prince William, who is patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, will attend the group-stage clash between Wales and Fiji at the Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday.
Princess Kate will watch the group-stage match between England and Argentina.
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It comes weeks after Prince William and the Royal Family suffered a backlash for not attending the Women's World Cup final between England and Spain.
The Lionesses suffered an agonising 1-0 defeat in Australia as Spain won the Women's World Cup for the first time.
Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, was expected to attend the final to demonstrate his support for England.
No member of the Royal Family made the trip to Australia but the UK's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly did attend the major sporting event.
However, Spanish royalty Queen Letizia and her daughter Princess Sofía were in attendance to watch Spain triumph.
Prince William's last visit to Australia was nearly ten years ago and this played a part in his decision not to attend the final, according to Palace sources.
A source told the Mail: "It was a finely balanced decision.
"The Prince of Wales hasn't visited since 2014, so he would wish his next trip to Australia to be a substantial visit.
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Prince William's last visit to Australia was nearly ten years ago.
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"He met them [the Lionesses] in St George's Park before they flew out and he has been supporting them throughout the tournament by sending private good luck messages to the manager and team."
Before the final, Prince William and his daughter Princess Charlotte wished the Lionesses luck ahead of the final in a video message posted on social media.
The Prince of Wales said: "Lionesses, I want to send you a huge good luck for tomorrow.
"We're sorry we can't be there in person but we're so proud of everything you have achieved and the millions you've inspired here and around the world. So go out there tomorrow and really enjoy yourselves."
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