Kate Middleton wishes England the best of luck as they prepare to take on the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup semi-final

Kate Middleton has wished England the best of luck ahead of their clash with South Africa in the Rugby World Cup tonight.

The Princess of Wales, 41, posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing her support for the Red Roses as they prepare to take on current world champions the Springboks.

The mother-of-three is a patron of the Rugby Football Union, a role she took over from Prince Harry in 2020 when he stepped down as a working royal and moved to the US with Meghan Markle.

She has already cheered on England twice this tournament, going solo to stadiums to watch the Red Roses first play Argentina in the group stage, and then their quarter-final against Fiji last week – but she is not expected to attend are at the tournament. today’s match.

During her absence, she wrote a tweet to the squad wishing them the best of luck, signed with her initial ‘C’ for Catherine.

The Princess wrote: ‘I wish you the best of luck for your England Rugby semi-final later today. Good luck! C.’ She added a red rose emoji to the tweet.

It is understood that Princess Kate will not be attending the match at the Stade de France in Paris tonight as Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are on holiday.

Last week, when the Red Roses took on Fiji in the quarter-final, the Princess watched their victory with joy.

Kate, who was seen singing the national anthem at the Stade de Marseille, may have been the Red Roses’ lucky charm after overseeing their incredible opening round win over Argentina in the same stadium.

England outperformed Wales, who lost to Argentina yesterday, with Prince William and George cheering them on.

George – who appears to have shown his loyalty to Wales – did not make the trip today. Kate was instead joined by Bill Beaumont, the chairman of World Rugby, and Rob Bryers, chairman of the RFU.

The princess was joined by tens of thousands of English fans who took over the sun-drenched city last weekend.

Supporters invaded the bars along the streets of the Stade de Velodrome dressed as knights as they called on Steve Borthwick’s men to take care of business.

They were seen releasing hits including Sweet Caroline as the idyllic French town became English for just one day.

The Red Roses upped their game by beating the Flying Fijians, who beat them at Twickenham earlier this year.

But among those who supported them to complete the job were Blair Sales, 60, and his son Seb, 20, who came dressed as knights for the epic battle.

Before the match, Mr Sales, who has worn the same outfit for the last three World Cup matches, said: “I think we’ll do it today – we’ve got to play Fiji.” Seb, who traveled from Bath with his father, added: “If we do the scrum well we should win.”

Debbie Harris and Mike Taylor came dressed as Knuckles McGinty from Paddington 2 and are hoping England will lock down the Fijians.

Mr Taylor said: ‘I expect England to switch it on today, I think they will.’

Bradley Webster, 38, and friends James Chappell, 43, and Nigel Wilson, 58, came dressed as Fijians in Hawaiian outfits but believe the Red Roses will win.

“I think it will be tight, but we will do it,” Mr Chappell said.

England are the only home nation left in the competition after Wales and Ireland dropped out last night.

But the Fijians picked a fight with Isireli Vulaidausiga, 42, and Waisea Boginisoki, 40, who traveled all the way from the Pacific island for the match.

The team was surprised by Portugal last week after a good run of form.

Mr Vulaidausiga said: “This is different, this is a quarter-final. It’s do or die. I think we will, but may the best team win.”

It comes after Prince George put on an animated show as he watched Wales take on Argentina in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final.

The royal, 10, traveled to France with Prince William on Saturday to cheer on Wales at the Stade de Marseille, adorably matching with his father.

It’s the first time the youngster has attended an international sporting match abroad in person, and he certainly made the most of it

While his mother, the Princess of Wales, supported the England rugby team as patron of the Rugby Football Union, George, by attending the match in Wales, appeared to have made his loyalty clear.

George – a future Prince of Wales – arrived with his father, who is a patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

He was a mini-me of William, both wearing matching navy blue suits and red ties – the latter apparently a patriotic nod to the Welsh side.

The pair were greeted by World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont, France 2023 deputy director Martine Nemecek and Welsh Rugby Union president Gerald Davies.

George was the first to be welcomed by Sir Bill, who stepped forward to shake the former England rugby player’s hand and say hello.

William smiled and chatted with the former England captain, telling him: ‘Nice to see you. I thought I’d take George with me tonight.’

Introducing his son to Davies, William commented: ‘Gerald wore the jersey for Wales and was one of the best players ever. Bill played for England.’

William pointed to Davies and then to Sir Bill and joked: ‘He was very fast and quite slow.’

George and William sat in the presidential box to watch the game.

In February last year, George stood between his parents as they watched England take on Wales in the Six Nations, but he didn’t know who to support.

When Twickenham was quizzed about who he would choose, the young prince shrugged and smiled at William, who laughed and said: “It’s really become a thing in the house,” pointing to Kate and adding: “She’s totally fancy. I try to stay out of it.’

The prince, who is preparing for school entrance exams this autumn, plays rugby at school.

Last year, Kate asked George to tell the group that he learned to play the game himself. “He’s got all the gear,” she said. George described how he was starting to learn how to tackle, turning to his mother and saying, “But I haven’t tackled you yet!”

A laughing Kate replied: ‘Yes, you have.’

Kate revealed that George and his siblings Charlotte, six, and Louis, three, ‘all enjoyed’ rugby, with Louis adopting a ‘kamikaze’ style of play.

William, who is also a patron of the Football Association, was criticized in May for deciding not to attend the historic Women’s World Cup final when England took on Spain in Sydney.

Wales finished top of their group and remained undefeated throughout the group stages, including a dominant 40-6 win over Australia.