When you hear the phrase “the British royal family,” what do you picture? We can’t help but think of beautiful ball gowns, suits and ties, tiaras, structured blazers…
Essentially, we believe the royals have become synonymous with formal and business wear.
And can you blame us? Whenever Princess Catherine makes a public appearance, she’s usually wearing either a tailored dress, a blazer and trousers, or a ball gown.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, isn’t against playing a bit of sport.
And as for King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, nine times out of ten, they’re sporting a suit and tie.
But the royal family is not opposed to getting their hands dirty. And by that, we mean ditching traditional clothing and playing some sport.
Yes, there have been numerous occasions where members of The House of Windsor have gotten, to quote the late Olivia-Newton John, physical.
Don’t believe us? Read on to see every time a member of the British royal family has played a sport…
01
King Charles tries American Football
King Charles attended The Huddle Project at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he spoke with young people involved in the project and praised the incredible charity efforts made through the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and National Football League partnership.
His Majesty, the good sport he is, had a go at throwing a Super Bowl LIX football which was presented to him by British American football defensive end, Efe Obada.
02
Prince William throws a punch
On January 21 2025, Prince William swapped the bow ties for boxing gloves while visiting a homeless youth charity in London. His Royal Highness learnt a few new techniques as he joined in on a boxing session with the teens.
03
Duchess of Edinburgh plays a round of mini-golf
The Duchess of Edinburgh had some pretty cute competition for a round of miniature golf at the launch of NSPCC’s Number Day 2025 at LEGOLAND in Windsor.
Sophie joined 6-year-old Nell Pierce at the Adventure Golf course and looked quite the professional holding the putter.
04
Prince William gets tackled
Prince William is in Cape Town for the fourth annual Earthshot Prize Awards, and to kick off Earthshot Week, the Prince of Wales decided to have a little bit of fun with the students at Ocean View Secondary School.
His Royal Highness was shown no mercy by the kids when he took part in their rugby training!
05
Prince William playing rugby
During an NFL Foundation NFL Flag event held on October 15, 2024, Prince William tried the popular sport for himself.
06
Princess Catherine tries out wheelchair rugby
Princess Catherine is Patron of the Rugby Football League, and so, on October 5, 2023, she took part in a wheelchair rugby training session, facilitated by members of the world-cup-winning England Wheelchair Rugby League squad, during a Rugby League Inclusivity Day. The Princess of Wales had a ball…
07
Prince Harry plays polo
Prince Harry saddled up for the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup in Singapore on August 12, 2023.
The annual Polo Cup has been running since 2010, and to date has raised over £11 million (AU$21 million) to support Sentebale’s work with children and young people affected by poverty, inequality and HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.
08
Queen Camilla takes part in table tennis
While Queen Camilla may not be a table tennis champion, she revealed at the 2023 Wimbledon Tennis Championship that she was a Ball Girl in her youth.
“You have to be very agile. I remember doing it one hundred years ago at the Queen’s Club. It is quite difficult to get it right,” she told a group of Wimbledon Ball Girls and Boys.
09
Princess Catherine gets a tennis lesson from a champion
On June 25, 2023, Princess Catherine, along with tennis champion Roger Federer, appeared in a video that celebrates the Ball Boys and Girls (BBGs) who help at Wimbledon.
In the clip, Catherine obviously plays some tennis but she also participates in multiple training sessions such as signalling, ball changes, rolling balls up to the net, and bouncing the balls back to players.
10
Princess Catherine takes part in touch rugby game
Princess Catherine is Patron of the Rugby Football Union and on June 7, 2023, the Princess took part in a game of walking touch rugby when she visited Maidenhead Rugby Club.
11
Prince William tries table tennis
During his visit to CATCH — a youth-led charity — on November 30, 2021, Prince William played some table tennis.
12
King Charles plays cricket
King Charles played cricket while in Cardiff back when he was still the Prince of Wales on July 9, 2021.
13
Prince William and Prince Harry on opposing polo teams
Prince William and Prince Harry competed during the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day for the Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Trophy on July 10, 2019.
14
The Duchess of Sussex plays AFL
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, played Australian Rules football during her official visit to Melbourne on October 18, 2018.
15
Prince William guards the soccer goal
Prince William engaged in a game of soccer with the Lionesses and the local girls’ team from the Wildcats Girls’ Football programme on July 13, 2017.
16
Royals train for a marathon
During a London Marathon Training Day held on February 5, 2017, Prince William, Prince Harry and Princess Catherine competed in a running race together.
17
King Charles tries basketball
On March 22, 2012, the then-Prince Charles played basketball during his visit to Fryshuset Youth Centre in Stockholm, Sweden.
18
Princess Diana takes part in a foot race
Princess Diana famously took part in the Mother’s Race during Prince Harry’s school sports day in Richmond on June 11, 1991.
19
King Charles playing polo
When King Charles was younger he was an avid polo player. Here he is during a match that was held on May 9, 1977.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
