Prince William, the Prince of Wales, received gifts for his wife Kate and their three children during a visit to a Welsh-language school in London on Tuesday. The 44-year-old royal was given three plushie toy versions of Finnie, the official mascot of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. He also received a tie featuring the official Glasgow 2026 games tartan and Team Wales T-shirts for his family.
Engagement at London Welsh School
William joined pupils and Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games athletes in outdoor sporting activities at The London Welsh School in Hanwell, West London. He played bowls and netball with children and spoke with athletes set to compete in the Games, which will be held in Glasgow later this month. The Prince expressed his hopes for "an amazing summer" of sport, saying, "Hopefully England win the World Cup, and then it will be a great festival of sport going on in the summer for the Commonwealth Games, so it could roll into being an amazing summer."
Meeting Athletes and Teachers
William heard the story of Julie Thomas, a former primary school head teacher from Bridgend who became one of Wales's most decorated para bowls athletes after losing her eyesight in 2014. Thomas said of William, "He seemed genuinely interested in all of us as athletes and it was very nice because he seemed very knowledgeable. He was genuinely warm and interested and enthusiastic about it." She added that the Prince told her his children would be cheering her on during her performance in Glasgow.
The Prince also spoke with teachers at the school, which is a bilingual Welsh-English primary school for children aged three to eleven. Founded in 1958, it remains the only Welsh-language primary school outside of Wales and Patagonia. William noted that children told him it was "challenging" to speak Welsh while learning maths. He remarked, "I asked them if they think in Welsh or think in English and most of them think in Welsh, which is really interesting. I guess when you start off very young, it becomes just a natural process that you don't consciously think about."
Contrasting Day for Prince Harry
Meanwhile, 12 miles across London, William's younger brother Prince Harry faced a legal setback. The Duke of Sussex, 41, lost his high-profile £50 million privacy claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Harry was speaking about his Invictus Games at Chatham House when the news broke. The legal defeat marked a significant moment for the estranged brothers, who were undertaking engagements in the same city on the same day.
