Prince William, 40, has shown off his athletic prowess in the past, but we were particularly impressed with a new video that was posted to Instagram, where he participated in a sport that has always been a favorite of Kate Middleton's—rowing.
The video was filmed in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week (May 15-21), and the Prince of Wales joined the HMS Oardacious (royal navy submariners who focus on mental health and wellbeing) to discuss the important of mental health.
The caption of the post read: “Joining the past, present and future crews of HMS Oardacious for a very important conversation about mental health. For #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek we headed out onto the water, chatting everything from teamwork to food rations and just what it takes to look after your mental health when rowing across the Atlantic.”
In the full clip, which was posted to YouTube (see below), we watch the Prince of Wales interspersing the important topic with moments of levity. At one point, the father-of-three joked, “I need the exercise, good!”
As royal followers might know, rowing was a big part of Princess Catherine's life, and in fact, she turned to the sport when she and Prince William went through a brief breakup in 2007.
Parade notes that there is an excerpt in Marcia Moody's Kate: The Biography, which talks about the princess's dive into the sport. “Training with the Sisterhood helped distract her and also make her feel better,” Moody writes of the rowing team Middleton joined. “The twenty-one girls involved were aiming to row across the channel to raise money for the Ben Hollioake Fund, who raise money for the CHASE Hospice Care for Children, and another children’s hospice charity, Babes in Arms. Kate got involved through her old school friend Alicia Fox-Pitt, and fellow rower Emma Sayle recalls, ‘Kate was very down and I think the training became her therapy. Kate had always put William first and she said this was a chance to do something for herself.’”
Of course, three kids and twelve years of marriage later, it's clear that the Prince and Princess of Wales made it work. But in that short time apart, Princess Catherine found an activity she loved.
We adore seeing Prince William engaging in one of his wife's favorite activities.
Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here.
