princess anne rugby© Photo: Getty Images

Disappointment for Princess Anne during weekend outing with her husband

But the royal remained in good spirits!

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
February 28, 2022

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge weren't the only royals at the rugby this weekend, but sadly for Prince William's aunt, the Princess Royal, her team weren't victorious on this occasion.

Princess Anne, 71, was accompanied by her husband, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence as they attended the Six Nations match between Scotland and France at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday.

READ: Kate Middleton's funny conversation with Prince George at the rugby revealed

WATCH: Princess Anne delights royal fans as she presents trophy at rugby match

The Queen's only daughter has been patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986 and regularly attends matches. Unfortunately, Scotland lost 17 – 36 to France, but Anne was all smiles as she presented the Auld Alliance Trophy to French player, Antoine Dupont.

The Auld Alliance Trophy is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Scotland, with Scotland having won the award the most times so far since it was introduced in 2018.

© Photo: Rex

Princess Anne presented the trophy to France's Antoine Dupont

Cameras picked up the sweet conversation between the royal and Antoine, with many social media users wondering if Anne spoke to the sportsman in French.

"Assuming they were speaking in French considering how comfortable Dupont looked," one commented. Another added: "Good point. Queen speaks excellent French. Her father spoke many languages including I think Greek and German. Anyone know the answer to this?"

MORE: Prince George's surprise appearance at Six Nations delights royal fans - but they all notice the same thing

MORE: Prince Charles returns to ski resort where tragedy struck

© Photo: Getty Images

Princess Anne watching the match with her husband Vice-Admiral Sir Tim (top right)

The royal family are quite the linguists, with the Queen able to speak French, having been taught the language from a young age. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales has spoken a number of languages publicly, including French, German and Welsh.

Prince William also impressed his guests when he spoke Swahili during an engagement at Kensington Palace in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in competition at Twickenham Stadium for what was the first match Kate has attended since becoming patron of the Rugby Football Union.

William, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, and Kate are known for their rivalry during sporting engagements and the pair sported their own team scarves on Saturday.

England were triumphant over Wales, winning 23-19.

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