Kate Middleton and Prince William Get Sporty: A Curling Challenge

Prince William and Kate Middleton are no strangers to a bit of friendly competition between themselves—in fact, it has become a cornerstone of their joint appearances over the years. On January 20, while visiting Scotland together, the Prince and Princess of Wales let their respective sporty sides shine as they took on a new challenge—curling. The winter sport sees two teams slide heavy granite stones on ice towards a circular target known as the “house,” looking to get their stones closer to the center than their opponent’s. As so often happens in these husband-and-wife competitions, Kate emerged victorious on Tuesday, beating her husband—despite wearing a skirt. The couple went head-to-head at the National Curling Academy in Stirling, with Kate ditching her blue tartan coat and heeled boots for a black turtleneck and flat black boots to participate in the sport. She accessorized in Scotland with not only her sapphire and diamond engagement ring but also a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings thought to be a present from William ahead of their 2011 royal wedding. Joining Team Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes in training ahead of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, Kate won the day’s competition by landing her stone in the middle of the house. “Come on, come on, keep going,” the future queen said (per The Telegraph), before celebrating with a fist pump and a high five after it reached its destination. After the visit, while speaking to well-wishers, William admitted, “It’s harder than it looks.” After William and Kate finished doing practice lunge motions, the Princess of Wales told her husband, “You can go first,” per The Sun. “Are you sure?” he responded. “It won’t make a difference,” likely a reference to Kate’s pattern of winning their sporty competitions. William said as he slid off, “Here we go, let’s see what happens,” the outlet reported. “It was wonderful, really nice that they came to wish us good luck for the next month we are about to embark on,” said Bruce Mouat, skip of the men’s curling team. “Both of them were lovely and willing to curl.” He added, “They said they would be watching the games, which means a lot to us.” William and Kate’s office at Kensington Palace said the royal couple were in Scotland to “shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire generations.” Later on Tuesday, William and Kate—known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland—headed to Radical Weavers, where they will get the chance to weave tartan themselves, including a small piece as part of the organization’s project to create the world’s longest tartan scarf.