William and Kate to visit Commonwealth Games

The Prince and Princess of Wales will join spectators at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as the sporting tournament draws to a close.William and Kate will watch events on the penultimate day of the games which has showcased some of the world’s best competitors and seen thousands flock to the city.The royal couple – who are known by their Scottish titles, the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, when visiting the country – will also meet Team Wales athletes and their families on Saturday.The Prince of Wales met athletes and schoolchildren on a visit to the Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain (The London Welsh School) in Hanwell, West London (Aaron Chown/PA)PA WireBefore the games William chatted to five Team Wales athletes – lawn and indoor bowler Ross Owen, blind para bowler Julie Thomas and her guide John Wilson, and weightlifters Madaline Connelly and Catrin Haf Jones – when he visited the London Welsh School in Hanwell, west London.In recent days the sporting event affectionately known as the “friendly games” has been attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, vice patron of Commonwealth Sport, which delivers the games, and his wife.On Saturday spectators can watch a range of sports from athletics and boxing to netball and judo.The King and Queen emerged from a Tardis at the Hydro arena in Glasgow during the opening ceremony, in scenes reminiscent of London 2012 when Queen Elizabeth II appeared to skydive into the Olympic Stadium alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig.The King and Queen at the opening ceremony (Andrew Milligan/PA)PA WireThe opening ceremony in Glasgow was the first to be held indoors as part of a radical restructuring of the games’ finances after Australian state Victoria withdrew as host of the event in 2023, citing spiralling costs.The future of the event, which originated as the British Empire Games in 1930, was in doubt until Glasgow was convinced to step in and reprise its hosting role from 2014, albeit with significant alterations.William and Kate will also spend time with athletes competing at the games whose careers have been empowered by the charity SportsAid, which Kate has supported as patron since 2013, and meet emerging talent taking part in the Team England Futures project.Sporting stars whose early promise was boosted by SportsAid include Sir Chris Hoy, Ellie Simmonds, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tom Daley.Team England Futures has given talented young athletes and aspiring support staff the opportunity to attend the Glasgow games to gain behind-the-scenes experience in preparation for potential medal-winning performances as Team England, Team GB or ParalympicsGB debutants.