Prince Louis received a warm welcome to his first major sporting event this afternoon, joining the Prince and Princess of Wales and his siblings to watch netball at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. The family of five took their seats in a packed stadium for the tense semi-final clash between Australia and Jamaica, with George, Charlotte and Louis sandwiched between their parents.
Inside the arena, the Waleses sat amongst the Scottish Thistles, Scotland's netball team, and posed for selfies with the squad before watching the world's No 1 team, Australia, take on Birmingham 2022 silver medalists Jamaica. The young royals were clearly delighted by the Games' official mascots and performers, who stole the spotlight alongside the action on court.
As the family left the Hydro following the dramatic semi-final, Princess Charlotte waved at Finnie the unicorn mascot and gave her a high-five, prompting the character to jump in the air before offering Prince Louis a high-five of his own. Finnie then playfully mimicked Charlotte's shivering, before Prince William walked over and fist-bumped the mascot. Finnie blew Catherine a kiss and laughed as they shared a fist bump of their own.
Surprise halftime appearance
Earlier in the day, the children were equally thrilled when court mascot and TikTok sensation Mop Man made a surprise halftime appearance. The dancer, who pretends to be a cleaner before breaking into a routine, was met with cheers from the crowd as the royal children pointed and smiled at the performance.
Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, as they are known in Scotland, would attend the penultimate day of the so-called friendly games this morning, but the appearances of Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Louis, eight, were kept under wraps. It marks the first time the children have been publicly seen in Scotland.
Jamaica win and meeting gold medallists
The dramatic semi-final saw Jamaica win by a single point. After the match, Scottish swimmer Archie Goodburn, who has brain cancer, accompanied the family as they left the venue. The sunshine briefly made an appearance as they were greeted by a line-up of 20 volunteers and cheered on by huge crowds gathered outside the gates as word spread that the royals would be heading outside.
While Charlotte and Louis hung out with Finnie, William, Catherine and George stopped to chat with three foam-finger-clad volunteers before moving over to speak with two gold medallists. William introduced his children to English para-athlete Mark Swan, who won the first gold of the Games in weightlifting, and asked him to explain how much he could lift in a way the youngsters could understand.
Mark told them: "I can lift a grand piano or 19 corgi dogs." Charlotte and Louis gaped open-mouthed as William imitated the lifting action with his hands. Catherine stood beside them chatting with gymnast Reuben Ward, who won Team Scotland's first-ever All-Around Gold during his Commonwealth Games debut, and told him: "Really well done, congratulations on the medal."
On to the Velodrome
The family then headed to the Spectator Plaza to their waiting cars as crowds swarmed around them. As William helped the children climb into the vehicle, Catherine bent down to chat to a young girl clutching a plush toy version of Finnie. As the cars pulled away, the family waved through the windows before driving four miles to the Velodrome to watch the cycling alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Laura Kenny.
