Princess of Wales hosts World Cup winners England
BBC | 16.01.2026 00:04
The Princess of Wales hosted England's women's rugby union team at Windsor Castle to celebrate their World Cup success in September.
England beat Canada 33-13 in front of 81,885 spectators at Twickenham to lift the trophy for a third time.
Catherine, a patron of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), met with officials and staff from the organisation as well as the 32-player squad.
She followed England during the home World Cup campaign and was in attendance when they beat Australia in Brighton in the pool stage.
Captain Zoe Stratford, two-time World Cup winner Marlie Packer and head coach John Mitchell, who were all named as OBE recipients in the New Year Honours, were among those at the royal reception.
Vice-captain Megan Jones, back row Sadia Kabeya and Sports Personality of the Year nominee Ellie Kildunne were also recognised with MBE awards in December.
The Red Roses were an hour late after their bus broke down and the bus driver then took a wrong turn, meaning the team missed out on a tour of Windsor Castle.
Following the royal reception the squad went to Downing Street to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
