Prince William “giving George his ‘mini royal’ moment” went viral on TikTok as one fan wrote: “This is how future kings are made.”
The two royals were at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, France, to watch Wales play Argentina in the Rugby World Cup tournament, on October 14, 2023.
William, who is Prince of Wales and patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, and his son had a tough day after their team lost 29-17 to Argentina and crashed out of the Rugby World Cup.
Despite the result, it was another opportunity for George, 10, to chalk up some experience of the job of being royal during a meet-and-greet with dignitaries.
A video clip showing the father and son at the pre-game meet-and-greet went viral on TikTok. It was posted with the onscreen caption: “See how Prince William pauses to allow Prince George to try taking the lead today, as he grows into doing more royal engagements.”
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The clip has been liked more than 101,000 times and received over 2.1 million views. It carried the message: “Prince William giving George his ‘mini royal’ moment goes viral.”
One fan replied, “they will make superb kings, the country will be proud,” while another wrote: “This is how future kings are made.”
A third posted that the father’s tactic was “exactly how Prince William learned from his wonderful Mother.”
Another commented: “George is looking more and more confident as he gets older. Way more eye contact. Lovely.”
While father and son watched Wales on Saturday, Kate Middleton watched England beat Fiji 30-24 in Marseille the following day.
And the princess joined the England team in their dressing room after the match to congratulate the players on their success.
England went through to the semi-finals of the tournament where they will face South Africa at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday, October 21.
The Princess of Wales became patron of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) in February 2022, setting up the family for years of sporting rivalry.
William, Kate and George all went together to watch England play Wales at Twickenham Stadium, in London, on February 26, 2022.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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