Prince William has been praised by royal fans for taking time to speak to a fan during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
A video from the Stade de Bordeaux, where William attended Sunday’s match between Wales and Fiji, shows the Prince of Wales stopping to talk to a wheelchair user who appears to have asked him for a photo.
The video, taken from above and posted to Twitter by a user called Isa, shows the Prince of Wales, 41, looking sharp in a suit as he is led through a crowd of people at the end of the match.
As he walks the blue carpet after Fiji’s 32-26 defeat in Wales, a man in a wheelchair catches his eye and the Prince immediately stops to walk over and have a chat.
The pair then pose for a photo taken by a woman wearing a striped sweater, but the Prince of Wales sticks around after the photo is taken to chat with the royal fan.
The Prince of Wales, patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, was among the 42,000 spectators who watched Warren Gatland’s men take to the field in their opening match in Pool C.
The future king, wearing a red tie with white stripes, stood and proudly bellowed the words in Welsh to Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau – Land of our fathers.
William, patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, was seen laughing and joking as he sat next to Gerald Davies, the 50th president of the Welsh Rugby Union.
William glanced sideways as his image appeared on the big screen. But it seemed his face was not greeted with the same rapturous applause and cheers that broke out for Kate Middleton when her face was shown to the crowd yesterday as she watched England take on Argentina.
The Prince of Wales stopped to take a photo with a wheelchair-user royal fan at the Stade de Bordeaux
Prince William, 41, who watched the Wales-Fiji match at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, stopped to chat and take a photo
William said he enjoyed the opening matches of the Rugby World Cup when he visited Bordeaux to watch Wales’ Pool C match against Fiji.
William was greeted after arriving at the Stade de Bordeaux by Mr Davies, site director Paul Couet-Lannes and WRU president Gerald Davies.
He then met Fijian President Wiliame Katonivere before taking his seat.
The prince initially commented on the warm weather in the French city, where temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius this weekend, before discussing the tournament, which started on Friday when hosts France defeated three-time champions New Zealand 27-13 in Paris.
“I can’t believe another World Cup is here,” he told Davies. ‘It’s exciting when it all starts. There have already been some good matches. The France-New Zealand match was fantastic.”
He also expressed his admiration for former Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, Test Rugby’s most capped player, who retired earlier this year and currently plays for French club Toulon. “I’m going to find out where Alun Wyn is,” William said during his conversation with Gerald Davies. “He’s been there so long, he’s a loyal man.”
It’s not the first time William has been caught singing the Welsh national anthem. In February, the Prince and Princess of Wales were in Cardiff to watch England play Wales in the Six Nations.
It was the couple’s first appearance at a rugby match since winning their new titles and both were spotted singing the national anthem in Welsh.
In 2016 he spoke about how ‘when the Welsh national anthem sounds, you know you’re home’.
His visit to France came 24 hours after his wife, Princess Kate, 41, was spotted in the crowd cheering England on at the Stade de Marseille as the Red and White made the perfect start to their campaign with the 27-10 victory.