Princess Charlotte Can Do This Difficult Skill, Just Like Her Mom Princess Kate—But Kate Admits Charlotte is Better at It

Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte at Wimbledon

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 September 2023

At this point, there’s pretty much nothing the Princess of Wales can’t do, right? From photography to playing the piano to rocking a pantsuit, Kate is nothing if not versatile—and we haven’t even started in on her athletic prowess.

Prince William and Kate Middleton competing against one another

Kate apparently has another hidden skill—one she shares with her daughter, Princess Charlotte, and one that she revealed during a recent royal engagement, per The Mirror. Kate was taking a tour around Aberavon Leisure Centre in Wales and chatting with youngsters taking part in a gymnastics lesson when she asked them what tricks they could perform. She asked the children “Can you perform the splits?” before sharing “I was able to do it when I was little, but I’ll have to keep practicing now.”

As six-year-old Grace Evans showed that she could do the trick, Kate said “My little girl [Charlotte] likes to do that, too,” she said. That’s not the only athletic feat Charlotte has accomplished—she plays soccer and cricket at her school, Lambrook, tried her hand at archery earlier this year during Coronation weekend, and revealed her love of gymnastics while at the Commonwealth Games last year. “She really, really loved seeing the swimming, but she’s interested in the gymnastics,” said SportsAid’s Tim Lawler. “While they’re trying lots of different sports at home, when I asked her about sport, she answered very easily and said, ‘It’s gymnastics that I like.’”

Charlotte comes about her athletic skill honestly, as both of her parents love sports. Kate used to play field hockey while in school, and has been seen taking part in rowing, sailing, tennis, cricket, and rugby, just to name a few, during her career as a royal.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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