Glasgow: They arrived at Australia’s netball semi-final against Jamaica with little fanfare.
But the Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three children George, Charlotte and Louis ended the day having squeezed more Commonwealth Games action – and at more venues – in a single day than probably any spectator over the past 10 days.
In fact, so much did they pack in to such a small amount of time that it would not surprise to discover they’d used the same Tardis that King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped out of at the Games’ opening ceremony.
Though probably not by design, there was a distinct Australian flavour to the royals’ whirlwind visit to Glasgow.
Arriving midway through the first quarter of the second netball semi-final of the day, they were there to see Australia make unwanted history by failing to reach a gold medal match for the first time at a Commonwealth Games.
The five royals sat among members of Team Scotland as they watched the netball, as well as representatives from other countries – including Commonwealth Games Australia board members and chef de mission Petria Thomas.
But there was no time to waste; Prince William, Princess Catherine (who use the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay while in Scotland) and the three children quickly headed over to the velodrome to watch some cycling.
There are four venues at these Games: Glasgow International Arena (which holds the Chris Hoy velodrome and also staged gymnastics), the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Scotstoun Stadium (where athletics are held) and the SEC, which includes the Hydro and is staging all the other events. While they aren’t exactly far away from each other, they are certainly more than a hop, skip and a jump apart.
There was just as little fanfare when the royals arrived at the cycling. There, they watched more Aussies – much to the athletes’ surprise.
Para cyclist Jessica Gallagher and pilot Jacqueline Mengler-Mohr picked up a silver medal in the tandem B 1000m time trial, their second of the week after they also won silver in the tandem B sprint, while the royals watched on – eschewing a corporate box to sit among the crowd.
“One of the downsides of being visually impaired is that I can’t see in the stands, so I wouldn’t have a clue who’s down there,” Gallagher said.
“We had Princess Anne in for our sprint day, so we just assumed they love tandem racing.”
Prince Louis in particular seemed to enjoy the visit to the velodrome, where he was given a Team Wales hat.
Also up during the royal visit were Australia’s bronze medallists in the men’s tandem sprint, Kane Perris and pilot Luke Zaccaria, and the semi-finals of the men’s sprint.
“I had absolutely no idea,” Perris said of the royal onlookers.
“I heard on Thursday there was a royal in the audience as well, but I might have been a little bit more nervous, so I’m almost glad that I didn’t know. But hopefully, we put on a bit of a show with the tandem sprinting.”
But their teammate Leigh Hoffman was less interested.
“I’ll be honest. I think, my girlfriend and her family, her mum is from Liverpool and loves her royal family a bit, so it would probably mean something to her,” he said. “But to myself, we’re a family of steelworkers, so, not really [meaningful].”
Next up on the schedule was a trip back to the SEC to watch some judo. Again, there was an Australian connection as Saya Middleton took silver – and Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis got some Australian keepsakes.
Australia’s Commonwealth Games chef de mission Thomas and her deputy, who were also in the crowd, gave each of the children Australian team pin.
“I presented Princess Charlotte with a pin that featured Borobi, our team mascot,” Thomas said.
“They all indicated they were enjoying their day at the Games, which was great to hear.”
Australian judoka Middleton, on Games debut, didn’t know the royals were there until afterwards.
“And I was like, ‘oh, that’s crazy’,” she said.
“Hopefully, they’re still hanging around and I’ll be able to see them. But yeah, that was really cool to know that they were in the crowd.”
There was no such luck for Middleton.
Also squeezed into the day was a visit with Welsh athletes at Wales House in the city centre, and a meeting with volunteers outside the Hydro.
There was one venue still in action that the family did not attend – Scotstoun Stadium for the final night of the athletics program. The Duke of Edinburgh, who had also been at the velodrome, was in the stands.
with AAP
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Billie Eder is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
