Princess Kate Had the Time of Her Life at the Rugby World Cup in France, Sans William

Thriving!

England v Argentina - Rugby World Cup France 2023
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The royals are back on the scene after summer vacation.

After paying a moving tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth on the anniversary of her death on Friday in Wales, Princess Kate headed over to France to watch a Rugby World Cup match—as did Prince William... in a separate city.

As you may know, there's a bit of a sports rivalry in the Wales household: As patron to the England Rugby Football Union, the princess is naturally an England fan, while Welsh Rugby Union patron William supports Wales.

With both teams playing in the World Cup, William and Kate were called to divide and conquer. The princess was in Marseille on Sept. 9 to watch England play Argentina, and the prince was across the country in Bordeaux on Sept. 10 to watch Wales play Fiji.

While of course the royal couple may well have joined each other behind the scenes, their public appearances over the weekend were appropriately separate (since they can't be seen cheering on each other's teams!).

Anyway, over in Marseille, Kate seemed to be positively thriving, flashing huge smiles while sitting in the bleachers of the stadium and chatting to some men who are likely officials in the England Rugby Football Union.

Happily for Kate, England beat Argentina 27 to 10 on this occasion, per BBC Sport.

England v Argentina - Rugby World Cup France 2023

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Princess of Wales looked stunning and utterly businesslike for the sporting event, wearing one of her go-to tailored Alexander McQueen pantsuits in bright white, per the Daily Mail.

The princess paired the suit with a diamond necklace and earrings from Mappin & Webb, according to the Express. She wore her long brunette hair down, parted in the middle, and lightly waved.

England v Argentina - Rugby World Cup France 2023

(Image credit: Getty Images)
Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.