Despite having many things in common, there’s one extreme hobby Kate Middleton has that Prince William just can’t get on board with – and it’s sparked some heavy discussions in the home
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The Princess of Wales says she ‘loves’ cold water swimming
There’s no doubting the Prince and Princess of Wales have a lot of common – one thing being their competitiveness. Prince William and Kate, both 41, like to keep busy with sports both separately and together.
The couple, who have been married for more than 12 years, enjoy going on bike rides and going head-to-head in competitive sports such as tennis. But there’s one hobby that the mum-of-three has that her husband just can’t get onboard with. Taking to The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Kate explained: “Personally, I love swimming. Cold swimming, the colder the better. I absolutely love it. It’s slightly to the point where William is like, ‘you’re crazy’.” Speaking to post Mike Tindall, who is married to the late Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips.
The sporty royal continued: “It’s dark and it’s raining and I seek out the cold water. I love it, but I wouldn’t want to be put through my paces in a freezing sub-zero ice bath.” Mike, who shares a very special bond with William and Kate, added: “We all get together, I know she’ll make me do something.” Earlier in the year Kate shared that she even has a robe she uses especially after swims. While at an outing in Wales, where they were due to meet the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team, Kate made the remark after someone was wearing a robe to keep warm in the rain.
Local mum Alison Cheeke told People: “She said she wears one of them when she goes cold water swimming.” Cold water swimming is believed to have huge mental health benefits, in addition to being good physical exercise, according to an article published by Harvard Public Health.
That being said, it’s not without its risks. According to the Outdoor Swimming Society, some of the biggest risk factors for the extreme hobby are cold shock, cold incapacitation, which is where your swimming becomes slower and more ragged, cramp, hypothermia and cold water urticaria, which are hives induced by the cold. Kate and Mike went on to speak more about the royal’s competitive personality. He said: “I’m not going to say you’re uber competitive,” pausing to give a nod, before Kate claimed: “I’m not competitive at all.” Mike replied: “I’ve seen her play beer pong!”.
It turns out Kate and husband William are also very competitive when playing against each other. Kate said: “I don’t think we’ve managed to finish a game of tennis, the two of us. It becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.” Meanwhile, William also has a hobby that fills Kate with fear. During a visit to the Scottish city of Dundee back in 2015, Kate was asked during a royal engagement whether William would still ride a motorbike from time to time. She said: “He’s still riding it. It always fills me with horror when he goes out on it. I’m terrified. Hopefully, I’m going to keep George off it.”
However, during a trip to Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, William explained that he wasn’t riding anymore, saying: “I’m a dad of three. I have to tone it down. I miss the big trips, for me biking was always about being with everybody else.” Earlier this year, meanwhile, it was revealed that William had treated himself to an e-scooter to zip around the royal Windsor estate. The Prince bought a 10mph two-wheeler, which he uses on the three-mile round trip from Adelaide Cottage to Windsor Castle.
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